The Most Dangerous Bedsore Complications (And How They’re Prevented)

In hospitals and nursing homes, a bedsore often becomes a concern not because of its appearance, but because of how quickly it can change

This article explains the bedsore complications that carry the highest medical risk, the signs that often show up along the way, and the everyday care measures that are meant to stop a pressure injury from escalating.

How a Bedsore Begins to Escalate

A bedsore develops when pressure stays on one area of the body long enough to interfere with circulation, which gradually weakens the skin and the tissue beneath it. These wounds tend to form over bony areas like the tailbone, hips, heels, ankles, elbows, and shoulder blades, especially when someone has trouble moving or cannot easily feel discomfort.

Complications usually develop once the damage passes the surface. When the skin opens or tissue deepens, the body loses a natural barrier, and the wound can become a doorway for infection. 

The Most Serious Bedsore Complications

These complications often take shape as a bedsore worsens, beginning at the wound itself and sometimes extending beyond it.

Cellulitis and deep soft-tissue infection

Infection is the main concern as a bedsore worsens. Instead of remaining limited to the wound itself, bacteria can begin to spread into the surrounding skin and soft tissue, a condition commonly referred to as cellulitis or a deep soft-tissue infection.

At this stage, the concern is less about how the wound looks and more about how the body responds to the infection. As it spreads, the immune system has to respond across a wider area, which can lead to swelling, pain, and a need for stronger treatment, including intravenous antibiotics, imaging, or hospitalization.

As in all cases of bedsores, the best way to prevent a condition from worsening is early, preventative treatment.

Osteomyelitis, an infection that reaches bone

When infection reaches the bone, care often becomes more involved, even though the wound itself may look much the same. Healing tends to move slowly, which can make it harder to tell how well treatment is working from one day to the next.

At this stage, treatment often shifts toward longer courses of antibiotics, closer imaging or lab monitoring, and repeated reassessment to confirm whether the infection is responding. Because bone heals slowly, improvement is measured over weeks rather than days, and visible changes at the wound site may lag behind what clinicians are tracking medically.

Necrosis and gangrene, when tissue can no longer recover

Necrosis and gangrene describe what happens when tissue has been deprived of blood flow long enough that it can no longer survive. At this point, the issue is no longer whether the wound will heal on its own, but how much damaged tissue must be addressed to keep infection from spreading further.

These conditions are often identified through changes such as:

• skin or tissue that turns dark, gray, or black
• areas of the wound that continue to enlarge rather than close
• strong or worsening odor
• thick or unusual drainage

Once tissue has died, treatment usually involves removing the nonviable tissue to control infection and allow the surrounding areas to recover.

Sepsis, a system-wide infection

Sepsis is a medical emergency that occurs when the body can no longer contain an infection and begins to react system-wide. Symptoms show up in unusual behaviors, including:

• Confusion or changes in mental clarity
• Unusual sleepiness or difficulty staying awake
• Fever or chills
• Rapid or labored breathing
• A noticeable decline in overall responsiveness

When these signs appear, families need to act quickly. Notify a caretaker, so they can begin to take your loved one to the hospital for urgent care and close monitoring. 

Surgery, reconstruction, and the long recovery that can follow

Some bedsores can complicate recovery by limiting what the body can realistically heal on its own. When a pressure injury reaches that point, surgery may be needed to remove damaged or infected tissue or to help close the wound through reconstructive procedures.

A condition of this severity often brings longer hospital stays, more involved pain management, and setbacks in mobility, especially for people who were already medically fragile. In most cases, surgery is not the result of a single lapse in care, but of a wound that continued to progress over time without the consistency needed to stop it earlier.

Bedsore Complications Point to Improper Care

Most serious bedsore complications are not sudden or unavoidable. They develop when a wound is allowed to worsen over time without consistent attention, whether that means missed repositioning, delayed wound evaluation, poor follow‑through on care plans, or breakdowns in communication among caregivers.

When bedsores progress to infections, tissue death, or systemic illness, families are often left with a straightforward question: Should this have happened at all?

If a bedsore progressed without meaningful intervention, infection signs went unaddressed, or documentation does not match what you saw, Morgan & Morgan can help your family do exactly that. With more than 1,000 trial-ready attorneys nationwide, offices across the country, and decades of experience handling complex injury and neglect cases, we have the resources to examine what went wrong and guide your next steps.

Get started today with a free, no-risk case evaluation.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can bedsores become life-threatening?

Yes. Bedsores can become life-threatening when complications like infection, bone involvement, or sepsis develop, though many pressure injuries heal when they are identified early and treated appropriately.

2. What are the most dangerous bedsore complications?

The most dangerous bedsore complications include serious infections, infection that reaches the bone, sepsis, tissue death such as necrosis or gangrene, and wounds that become severe enough to require surgery. In rare cases, these complications can lead to amputation or widespread physical decline.

3. What signs suggest a bedsore infection is getting worse?

Signs that an infection may be getting worse include increased warmth or swelling, redness, drainage, odor, or pain at the wound site, as well as a wound that continues to enlarge instead of healing. 

Broader changes like fever, confusion, or sudden weakness can also be a sign that the infection is no longer limited to the wound.

4. Do bedsores always mean a nursing home or hospital did something wrong?

Not always. While some medical conditions do increase the risk of bedsores, many serious pressure injuries are considered preventable with basic care like regular repositioning, skin checks, and timely wound treatment.

5. What should I ask the care team if my loved one has a bedsore?

Ask what stage the wound is in, what the treatment plan looks like, how often repositioning and skin checks are actually happening, and when a wound-care specialist or doctor will step in if the injury is not improving.

6. Can I pursue a legal claim for a bedsore complication?

Yes, in some situations. If a preventable bedsore worsened because proper care was not provided and caused serious harm, a legal claim may be possible. The specifics depend on what happened and the state where the care occurred.