Aug. 3, 2026

Bedsore lawsuits are won and lost on the record

When a family finds a loved one with a severe bedsore in a nursing home, they often sue. But these cases are rarely decided by the wound itself. They are decided by what the medical record shows. Tracy Liberatore is an attorney and former physician assistant who does expert witness work on these claims, and she explains why a four-step test, not the size of the ulcer, determines whether it is ruled avoidable or unavoidable, and why age and other health problems do not by themselves let a facility off the hook. This episode is based on her article "Unavoidable pressure ulcer claims live and die by the record," published on KevinMD. You will hear how short staffing leads to missed documentation, how a 2023 Supreme Court decision opened a new path for lawsuits against publicly owned nursing homes, and what to record to protect patients and yourself. Press play to hear why the chart, not the wound, decides these cases, and what every nursing home clinician should be documenting.

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