Can You Sue a Nursing Home if Your Loved One Dies from Sepsis?

The question that we consider often is: Can you sue a nursing home if your loved one dies from sepsis? Sepsis usually is what’s called a systemic infection—the infection gets into your bloodstream. So, the question is, when can you sue a nursing home for an infection? Well, number one, if a nursing home sees that someone has suffered a bruise or cut, they have to take care of it. If someone comes to the nursing home with a surgical wound, they have to take care of it. If you’re in a nursing home and they allow you to get bedsores, that’s a source of infection. So, the first basis for which you can sue a nursing home for sepsis is: What did they do to prevent the infection in the first place? And then, when the infection first manifested itself, how did they respond to that infection? The answer to the question is yes, but every case involves a careful review of the medical records and the medicine, and consultation with experts to make sure we are on solid ground.