Compensation for Pressure Ulcers in Care Homes — 2026 Claims Guide

Compensation for pressure ulcers in care homes is available when a resident develops a stage 3 or stage 4 wound due to failures of care. Care homes have a legal duty to prevent pressure ulcers in the residents they look after. When that duty is breached and serious harm results, a negligence claim is frequently viable. This guide explains when claims succeed, who can bring them, and what the process involves.

The Care Home’s Legal Duty

Care homes regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) must comply with the Fundamental Standards set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. Regulation 12 requires care that prevents avoidable harm — and pressure ulcers are, in the vast majority of cases, avoidable harm.

In practice, a care home’s duty to a resident at risk of pressure ulcers includes: pressure ulcer risk assessment on or shortly after admission using a recognised tool such as the Waterlow score; a written individual care plan responding to the identified risk level; regular repositioning documented in repositioning charts; appropriate pressure-redistributing mattresses and cushions; daily skin inspection with findings documented; nutrition and hydration monitoring; continence management; and escalation to a GP or tissue viability specialist when skin changes are identified. Failure on any of these steps, followed by a serious pressure ulcer, is the typical factual basis for a compensation claim. NICE guideline CG179 sets the clinical standard of care against which the home’s conduct is measured.

Who Pays Compensation for Pressure Ulcers in Care Homes?

Care homes are required by law to hold liability insurance. Where a negligence claim succeeds, compensation is paid by the care home’s insurer — not personally by the care home operator or individual staff members. This means that even where a care home has closed or changed ownership, the insurer at the time of the negligence remains liable.

Signs of Neglect in Care Home Records

Care home records are central to every pressure ulcer claim. The most common indicators of negligent care are:

• Gaps in repositioning charts — a twelve-hour overnight gap with no recorded repositioning for a high-risk resident
• Suspiciously uniform entries — repositioning recorded at precisely identical times in identical handwriting, suggesting box-ticking
• No Waterlow assessment on admission, or an assessment never reviewed
• Skin changes noted without escalation — redness documented but no action taken and no care plan updated
• No pressure-relieving equipment despite a high-risk assessment
• Ongoing weight loss with no nutritional intervention documented
• No body maps completed despite documented skin breakdown

Common Scenarios for Pressure Ulcer Claims in Care Homes

High-Risk Resident, No Adequate Response

A resident is admitted following a hospital discharge. The Waterlow assessment on admission identifies high risk. The care home provides a standard mattress, implements no formal repositioning schedule, and records no skin inspections. A stage 3 ulcer develops over the sacrum within weeks of admission.

Skin Changes Identified and Ignored

A carer records persistent redness over the sacrum in daily notes. No escalation to the GP or tissue viability team occurs. The care plan is not updated. Two weeks later the wound breaks down to stage 3. The documentation trail shows the home identified the warning sign and failed to act.

Infection Not Recognised — Sepsis

An established stage 3 wound deteriorates and becomes infected. Signs of systemic infection — fever, confusion, reduced oral intake — are not recognised or not escalated. The resident is admitted to hospital with sepsis originating from the infected pressure ulcer. These cases often involve the most serious outcomes, including death.

What Compensation for Pressure Ulcers in Care Homes Covers

General damages compensate for the pain, suffering, and loss of amenity caused by the pressure ulcer — the wound, the treatment, any surgery, infection, hospitalisation, and permanent effects including scarring. The amount varies with the severity of the wound, how long it took to heal, and the consequences for the individual’s quality of life. Stage 3 and stage 4 claims, particularly those involving sepsis, osteomyelitis, or death, attract significantly higher awards.

Special damages are out-of-pocket financial losses: additional care costs, hospital transport, expenses incurred by family members travelling to visit, and lost earnings where a family member gave up work to provide care. In fatal cases, dependency claims under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 recover the financial losses suffered by the deceased’s dependants.

For a full explanation of how pressure ulcer stages are classified and why staging matters for the value of a claim, see our guide to the stages of pressure sores.

Who Can Bring a Claim

Where the resident is alive, they bring the claim themselves — or through a litigation friend if they lack mental capacity. Where the resident has died, two separate claims may be available: the estate’s claim under the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1934 for the pain and suffering the deceased experienced before death; and a dependency claim under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 for the financial losses suffered by those who depended on the deceased.

Time Limits for Pressure Ulcer Claims Against Care Homes

The standard limitation period is three years from the date of the negligent act — or, if later, three years from the date the claimant first knew that the harm was caused by negligence. For children, the three-year clock does not start until their eighteenth birthday. For adults who lack mental capacity, the clock does not run while incapacity continues. For fatal claims, a fresh three-year period runs from the date of death. Do not delay — once limitation expires, the claim is almost always lost.

The Claims Process

1. Free assessment. Curtis Legal reviews the circumstances and gives an honest view on whether a claim is likely to succeed.
2. Request records. The care home, GP, and any hospital are required to disclose the full care records.
3. Expert review. A tissue viability specialist reviews the records and produces a report on whether the care fell below an acceptable standard.
4. Letter of claim. Sent to the care home and its insurers.
5. Response period. The defendant has four months to investigate and respond.
6. Negotiation. The majority of pressure ulcer claims against care homes settle at this stage without going to court.

Curtis Legal handles qualifying pressure ulcer claims on a no win no fee basis. See our guide on how to make a pressure sore compensation claim for full eligibility criteria.

Frequently Asked Questions