Damages in a PA Bedsore Lawsuit
When a nursing home resident develops pressure ulcers due to inadequate care, the physical harm is visible and documented. What’s less obvious to families who are considering legal action is the full scope of what can be recovered in a Pennsylvania bedsore case. A successful claim typically reaches well beyond the cost of medical treatment.
Economic Damages
Economic damages represent the measurable financial losses directly caused by the facility’s negligence. In bedsore cases, these commonly include:
Medical expenses — The cost of treating the wound itself, including hospitalizations, wound care specialists, surgical debridement, skin grafts, antibiotics for infection, and any ongoing care needed as a result of the injury. In advanced cases, treatment can span months and generate substantial costs.
Future medical care — When bedsores cause permanent tissue damage or lead to complications that will require ongoing management, the anticipated future cost of that care is part of the recoverable damages. This often requires testimony from medical professionals who can project future treatment needs.
Lost income — When the resident or a family member who served as a caregiver lost income as a result of the injury and its aftermath, those losses can be included.
Wrongful death damages — When a bedsore, or the sepsis or infection that followed, contributed to a resident’s death, Pennsylvania’s wrongful death statute provides additional categories of recovery for surviving family members, including funeral and burial costs and the economic contributions the deceased would have made.
Non-Economic Damages
Pennsylvania law also allows recovery for losses that don’t come with a receipt attached.
Pain and suffering — Pressure ulcers are extraordinarily painful, particularly at stages three and four. The physical suffering associated with an advanced wound, combined with the medical procedures required to treat it, represents a significant non-economic loss that Pennsylvania courts take seriously.
Emotional distress — The psychological impact of developing serious wounds due to neglect, including fear, anxiety, and loss of dignity, is compensable.
Loss of enjoyment of life — When a resident’s quality of life diminishes as a result of the injury, including reduced mobility, loss of independence, or inability to engage in activities they valued, that loss can be part of the damages calculation.
A Pennsylvania bedsore lawyer can work with medical and economic professionals to build a damages model that captures the full scope of what the facility’s negligence actually cost the resident and their family.
Punitive Damages
Pennsylvania allows punitive damages in cases where the defendant’s conduct was particularly egregious or showed a reckless disregard for the safety of others. In nursing home cases, punitive damages become relevant when the facility’s neglect was severe, systemic, or involved knowing disregard for a resident’s deteriorating condition.
Davis & Brusca, LLC represents Pennsylvania and New Jersey families in nursing home neglect cases, including bedsore claims where the full scope of damages extends well beyond the surface of the wound.
If a family member developed pressure ulcers in a Pennsylvania nursing home and you believe neglect was involved, speaking with a Pennsylvania bedsore lawyer can help you understand what the case may be worth and what the process looks like from here.
