Rural Hospitals, Wound Care, and Lawsuits: Why “Good Enough” Is No Longer Safe Enough

Joseph Ebberwein, Co-Founder & CFO

A lawyer presents a photo of a facility-acquired pressure ulcer to the jury as evidence in a courtroom on a screen.

Every day, rural hospitals prevent infections and save limbs with world‑class wound care—yet just one missed turn or delayed transfer can trigger a lawsuit big enough to close their doors. Pressure‑injury claims alone spawn 17,000+ U.S. lawsuits a year, and juries in small towns now deliver the same eye‑watering awards seen in major metro areas:

• $68 million (2024) — Gallup, NM, 60‑bed hospital failed to control a post‑op infection.

• $2.2 million (2024) — Rural Pennsylvania vascular delay led to avoidable amputation.

These “nuclear” verdicts occur in facilities already battling chronic shortages: 100+ rural hospitals have closed since 2013, and many of the 1,800 that remain operate with margins under 2 percent.

Five Lawsuit Hotspots Every Rural CEO Should Track

Risk	Why It Ends Up in Court	Red‑Flag Example
Preventable pressure injuries	CMS classifies stage 3‑4 pressure injuries as never events; plaintiffs only need to show that basic prevention was skipped.	Under‑staffed SC hospital & rehab paid $650k after fatal pressure injury sepsis.
Delayed intervention/transfer	Vascular, ID, or surgical specialists are hours away; “wait‑and‑see” equals negligence.	Lone surgeon stayed at clinic; patient lost leg, jury awarded - $2.2 M.
Infection mismanagement	Missed sepsis or necrotizing fasciitis turns a routine wound into a wrongful‑death claim.	Gallup, NM, case above: record verdict.
Scope‑of‑practice errors	Non‑credentialed staff performing sharp debridement or ordering prescription agents.	RN's scope exceeded state practice guidelines; plaintiff alleged unlawful procedure.
Poor or missing documentation	If it isn’t charted, a jury assumes it wasn’t done—period.	Plaintiffs’ attorneys routinely leverage incomplete wound notes to show “systemic neglect.”

The True Wound Care Price Tag

• $9 – $12 billion: U.S. pressure‑injury cost burden each year.

• $20.9k ‑ $151.7k: extra cost per ulcer episode.

• $2,500 per occupied LTC bed: annual litigation expense. Add a single eight‑figure verdict, and a rural balance sheet can flip from thin black to deep red overnight.

Four Proven Safeguards

1. Certification‑level staff education - Annual evidence‑based training is provided for every nurse, plus an on‑call wound, ostomy, and continence nurse (WOCN) specialist.

2. Data‑driven prevention bundle - Turning schedules, high‑spec mattresses, nutrition screening—logged in the EMR with time‑stamped photos.

3. Tele‑specialty escalationInstant video consults with vascular or infectious‑disease experts; hard‑stop protocols for transfer.

4. Scope & documentation audits - Monthly chart reviews to catch staging errors, unlicensed procedures, or EMR gaps before plaintiffs do.

Why Corstrata?

Corstrata’s virtual wound‑care teams plug directly into rural workflows—delivering board‑certified expertise, timely teleconsults, and defensible documentation without recruiting battles or capital spend. Clients cut avoidable pressure injuries up to 60 %, slash transfer delays, and create a defensible record that stands up in court.

Don’t wait for a subpoena to upgrade your wound program. Schedule a discovery call to see how Corstrata can lower your litigation risk, protect your margins, and—most importantly—keep patients in your community healthy and home.

About Corstrata

Corstrata is a virtual care solution that utilizes technology to provide access to scarce certified wound, ostomy, and continence nurses (WOCNs) at the patient's bedside in multiple provider settings, including home health, hospice, skilled nursing facilities, and hospitals across all 50 states. Corstrata's team of WOC nurses provides consultations with provider staff at the patient's bedside, either through HIPAA-compliant video or through review of store-and-forward wound images, to improve clinical and financial outcomes for providers.