Nursing Home Infection and Sepsis Lawyer in Louisville, KY

• Urinary tract infections. Often linked to poor catheter care, infrequent changing of incontinence products or dehydration.
• Pneumonia. Aspiration pneumonia can follow when staff don't follow a resident's swallowing or feeding plan, or leave a resident lying flat after meals.
• Infected pressure ulcers. An untreated bed sore can spread infection to the bone (osteomyelitis) and the bloodstream.
• C. diff, MRSA and other outbreaks. Outbreaks often trace back to skipped hand hygiene, poor cleaning or failure to isolate sick residents.
• Skin and wound infections from untreated skin tears, IV sites or surgical wounds.

Under 42 CFR 483.80, a certified nursing home must have an infection prevention and control program, a system for preventing, identifying, reporting and controlling infections, and an infection preventionist on staff. Facilities must also give residents the care they need to prevent and heal pressure ulcers and to prevent urinary tract infections.

Kentucky gives residents a legal right to adequate and appropriate care, and a resident whose rights are violated can sue the facility for actual and punitive damages (KRS 216.515).

Sepsis is the body's extreme reaction to an infection. In older adults the early signs can be subtle, which is exactly why trained staff are supposed to monitor and report changes:

• Fever, or an unusually low temperature
• New confusion, drowsiness or agitation
• Fast heart rate or fast breathing
• Low blood pressure, clammy or mottled skin
• Less urine, or dark, foul-smelling urine

When a resident's chart shows these signs for hours or days without a call to the doctor or a transfer to the hospital, that gap is often the heart of the case. Delays like these can also support a medical malpractice claim against the treating providers.

• Nursing notes, vital signs and the medication administration record
• The care plan and any changes after the infection started
• Lab results, cultures and hospital admission records
• The facility's infection logs and outbreak records
• State and federal inspection reports, which you can check on Medicare Care Compare
• Staffing records for the shifts before the hospital transfer

Ask for your loved one's chart in writing as soon as you can. See also what to do if you suspect nursing home neglect.

Most Kentucky personal injury claims, including nursing home injury claims, must be filed within one year (KRS 413.140(1)(a)). If an infection led to a death, the personal representative of the estate brings the claim under KRS 411.130, and the timing rules in KRS 413.180 apply. See our Kentucky statute of limitations guide and our page on nursing home wrongful death.