Average Bedsore Settlement for Nursing Home Negligence | How Much Is a Bedsore Lawsuit Worth?

Has your loved one developed a pressure sore or bedsore in a nursing home? While pressure ulcers can develop quickly and be difficult to treat, they are also a common sign of nursing home abuse or neglect. You may have many questions about how to protect your loved one and ensure they get the care and respect they deserve.

A bedsore lawsuit filed against a negligent nursing home can help you recover the financial compensation you need to get your loved one the care they deserve, move them to a different facility, and improve their quality of life. Here is what you should know about filing a nursing home bedsore lawsuit, the average bedsore settlement amount, and how an experienced attorney can help.

Causes of Bed Sores in Nursing Home Patients

Bedsores, also known as pressure ulcers or decubitus ulcers, are the result of prolonged pressure that restricts blood flow to tissue. They usually develop over bony areas such as the tailbone, heels, hips, and shoulder blades.

Why is it so common for patients to develop decubitus ulcers in long-term care facilities? There are many factors that put nursing home residents at high risk for bedsores:

• Thinner, more fragile skin in older adults
• Mobility issues that make it difficult to shift, change positions, or get out of bed
• Incontinence, which can make skin vulnerable to damage
• Loss of sensation due to diabetes and other conditions
• Malnutrition or dehydration are common issues in older adults
• Vascular diseases that affect blood flow and increase the risk of tissue damage
• Obesity, which increases pressure on blood vessels, skin, and tissue

It’s estimated that 8% to 28% of residents in a nursing home facility experience a pressure ulcer at least once. Bedsores are also common in hospitals, where 41% of patients in ICUs develop a bedsore.

Not all bedsores are preventable, but most are. Nursing homes have a duty of care to patients to provide the standard of care. When a nursing home is negligent and allows bedsores to develop that should have been prevented, they can be held liable. Sadly, nursing home neglect and bedsores often go hand-in-hand.

There are many ways in which negligence can be the cause of a pressure ulcer. A bedsore can happen (or worsen) when a nursing home or staff fails to do any of the following:

• Maintain proper staffing levels
• Follow the care plan they created for the patient
• Provide sufficient hydration and proper nutrition
• Reposition an immobile patient or resident with limited mobility frequently and as needed
• Correctly move a patient during repositioning or transfer to a bed or wheelchair to avoid shearing of the skin
• Regularly change bedding and clothing to prevent poor hygiene
• Use correct products to absorb moisture
• Ensure the resident has proper footwear that does not create pressure on heels and toes
• Perform regular, full skin assessments to spot pressure ulcers when they are easy to treat
• Proper incontinence care and wound care

When facilities fail in their duty to provide adequate care to a resident, they can be held accountable through a pressure ulcer lawsuit. This includes negligence that results in a preventable bedsore or allows it to worsen and lead to further complications.

However, medical providers and facilities can’t be held accountable for poor medical outcomes or conditions that could not have been prevented if they provided sufficient care.

How Much Is a Bedsore Lawsuit Worth?

There are many factors that influence how much your California bedsore lawsuit may be worth. It’s impossible to give an average bedsore settlement amount as all bedsore lawsuits are unique and only jury verdicts are public. However, it is not uncommon for nursing home bedsore lawsuits to be worth $1 million or more when gross negligence, wrongful death, and/or significant disfigurement and pain are involved.

Average Bedsore Settlement & Major Pressure Ulcer Cases in California

A 2019 study examined medical malpractice cases associated with bedsores. The study found that, among cases between 1987 and 2019 that resulted in a settlement or verdict, 75.9% of cases were for negligence and 22.7% were related to medical malpractice. A hospital was named as the defendant in almost 62% of cases, followed by nursing homes (31%) and individual medical providers (7%).

Almost 26% of the cases resulted in a settlement. When cases went to trial, plaintiffs won 35% of the time and defendants won 36% of the time. However, of the three types of defendants, nursing homes were the least likely to win (25%), followed by hospitals (37%), then individual providers (80%).

The study found a mean payout of $400,000 in claims involving individual providers, $1.59 to $2.48 million against hospitals, and a mean $4 to $7.75 million payout for claims involving nursing homes.

Average Nursing Home Neglect Settlement

Nursing home negligence cases can be worth less than $50,000 or several million, depending on the severity of the injury, whether the negligence resulted in death, the type of negligence, and the victim’s overall health and age.

A 2003 study found an average nursing home settlement of $406,000. Adjusted for inflation, that’s $605,300. This only considers jury verdicts, not nursing home bedsore settlements, which are confidential.

You can learn more about nursing home negligence settlements here, with average jury awards and important factors affecting the value of your case.

Factors That Affect Bedsore Lawsuit Settlement Amounts in California

It may be helpful to understand the most important factors that affect what you may recover in a bed sore lawsuit settlement.

Pressure Ulcer Severity and Complications

Wound severity is one of the most important factors affecting what a bedsore lawsuit is worth.

Stage 4 bedsore lawsuit settlement amounts are almost always higher than settlements for stage 1 or stage 2 pressure sores. Severe pressure ulcers can result in extreme pain and life-threatening complications, including damage to underlying tissue and severe infection.

There are two main types of damages in your case: economic or financial losses and non-economic or personal losses. The non-economic damages outside of medical costs are a major component of the value of your case. A case involving a bedsore that resulted in moderate pain but healed with no lasting effects will not be worth as much as a case involving a bedsore that caused new mobility issues, significant and/or lasting pain, disfigurement, and serious complications.

Wrongful death cases involving pressure ulcers also tend to have a higher value than cases in which the victim recovered or survived.

Cause of the Bedsore

The actions or inaction that led to your loved one’s pressure ulcer can impact the value of your case. If the nursing home committed negligence that can be viewed as a “simple” mistake, your case may be worth less than a case involving gross negligence and clear neglect such as leaving a resident in a wheelchair for many hours or leaving a resident in a soiled diaper for a long period of time.

Strength of Evidence Proving Liability

The more evidence to support your case, the more your case is likely to be worth. The nursing home and its insurance company know that if the case proceeds to trial, they have a decent chance of winning. The less evidence you have, the greater their chances of winning. With clear evidence of liability, the insurance company knows that going to court is likely a losing proposition, and they will make a larger settlement offer to avoid high court costs and a potentially higher jury award.

Severe bedsores are considered never events, and because they should never happen with quality medical care, they are a strong sign of neglect or medical negligence. In a bedsore lawsuit involving an early-stage bedsore, you may require more evidence to prove the facility was negligent.

An attorney can help you document your loved one's condition, the care they received, and facility failures through medical records, expert testimony, facility records, and more.

Potential for Punitive Damages in a Bedsore Lawsuit

If the nursing home displayed reckless disregard for your loved one’s health and safety, they may be ordered to pay punitive damages if your bedsore lawsuit goes to court. In a 2010 case, a California nursing home was ordered to pay a $30 million verdict in a wrongful death lawsuit. This included $28 million in punitive damages alone for failing to provide care to a resident who died from an untreated pressure ulcer.

Bed Sore Compensation: Damages Available in a California Bedsore Lawsuit

When pressure injuries in a nursing home are caused by neglect, California law allows residents (or their estates) to pursue compensation through a bedsore lawsuit. Pressure ulcer compensation covers both financial losses (like medical care) and personal losses.

Economic damages are the tangible losses tied to the injury and its aftermath:

• Past and future medical expenses related to wound care, infection control, surgeries, and hospitalization.
• Ongoing medical treatment, including rehabilitation, antibiotics/IV therapy, pain management, specialty mattresses, and mobility aids.
• Increased facility or caregiver costs, transportation to appointments, and other incidentals necessary to manage pressure injuries.

Non-economic damages have no intrinsic value. These address how the injury affects daily life and dignity. Victims are entitled to compensation for physical pain, scarring, loss of enjoyment of life, humiliation, and emotional distress.

If the nursing home’s conduct amounts to recklessness, oppression, or intentional wrongdoing, California law may permit punitive damages. These are intended to punish and deter similar behavior.

If a bedsore contributes to a patient's death, two categories of claims may arise:

• A wrongful death claim by surviving family members for losses such as companionship, guidance, and funeral and burial costs.
• A survival action on behalf of the estate to recover the decedent’s economic losses (like final medical bills) and, in certain elder abuse cases, non-economic harms before death.

Every case is different. The severity of the wounds, the need for long-term medical care, evidence of neglect, and whether death occurred all influence the potential value of a bedsore lawsuit in California.

California Bedsore Lawsuit FAQs

How Quickly Do Bedsores Happen?

Bedsores can begin in a few hours when pressure isn’t relieved, especially for residents with limited mobility, poor nutrition, or incontinence. Rapid onset doesn’t excuse neglect - fast-developing wounds can still support a bedsore lawsuit if staff failed to assess risk, reposition, and provide timely care to treat bedsores before they worsened.

Can Bed Sores Cause Sepsis?

Yes. Untreated pressure ulcers can become infected, leading to cellulitis, osteomyelitis, and sepsis. If a facility ignored warning signs like fever, pain, or redness, that neglect may be central to a bedsore lawsuit.

Can Bedsores Be Fatal?

Unfortunately, yes. Complications such as sepsis or severe infection can be life-threatening, particularly for frail elders. When a resident dies because of preventable wounds, families may bring a wrongful-death bedsore lawsuit and a survival claim for harms suffered before death.

Can You Sue a Nursing Home for Bed Sores?

You can file a bedsore lawsuit if negligence caused the injuries, such as failing to turn and reposition, do risk assessments, maintain staffing, or obtain prompt wound care. Documentation, photos, and medical records are key evidence in a nursing facility bedsore lawsuit. A lawsuit allows victims and families to seek financial relief for treatment costs, transfer to a new facility, and the physical and emotional pain of the injury.

How Long Does It Take to Settle a Bedsore Lawsuit?

Many cases resolve in months; complex cases - especially those involving severe wounds, sepsis, or death - can take a year or more. A case that proceeds to trial will take longer to conclude. The strength of evidence, expert opinions, and other factors influence how quickly a bedsore lawsuit settles.

Contact Berman & Riedel, LLP for a Free Consultation with a California Bedsore Lawyer

Has your loved one suffered bedsores and serious infection in a nursing home? Have you lost a loved one and believe a nursing home’s negligence is responsible for their death? An experienced nursing home bedsore lawyer in California can help you explore your legal options and hold the responsible party accountable.

Berman & Riedel, LLP specializes in nursing home neglect and abuse. Our San Diego bedsore lawyers handle cases throughout California. We have extensive experience handling negligence cases involving pressure ulcers, including a case in which an untreated bedsore resulted in sepsis, wrongful termination, and premature death, which concluded with a $500,000 verdict. Our results speak for themselves.

Contact our law office today for a free consultation to discuss your bedsore case and how we can help you secure compensation for your loved one and hold the negligent nursing home responsible.