Jacksonville Nursing Home Medication Error Attorneys
Nursing home abuse can take many forms, including physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, financial exploitation, and neglect by both the assisted living facility staff and other residents. Nursing home abuse also occurs when the staff either willfully or negligently commits a medication error. Medication errors are defined as being any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the health care professional, patient, or consumer.
Often times, medication errors occur as a result of the staff’s negligence, such as misreading a medication’s label, mistaking the quantity of pills prescribed or the dosage of the medication, misunderstanding the medication’s directions, or simply failing to follow all of the directions. While medication errors are typically the result of simple mistakes by nursing home staff, they often lead to serious injuries in the elderly residents of the nursing home. In fact, approximately 1.3 million patients suffer injuries each year in the United States as a result of medication errors.
If you believe your loved one suffered an injury due to a nursing home medication error, contact the Jacksonville nursing home abuse attorneys of Abbott Law Group today to discuss your and your loved one’s legal options.
Common Negligent Medication Errors in Nursing Homes
Medication errors are commonly defined as mistakes that occur while preparing or administering medicine. More often than not, nursing home medication errors are the fault of the management or staff that prescribes and issues the medications to the elderly residents of the home. Some of the common negligent medication errors in nursing homes include:
- Administering an outdated or expired medication;
- Administering medication to a resident at an incorrect rate, duration, or time;
- Incorrectly administering the medication by failing to follow the directions;
- Improper administration due to errors with lab work;
- Giving a certain medication to the wrong resident;
- Administering too much of a medication to a resident, which could lead to overdose;
- Administering too little of a medication to a resident, or underdose.
These form of medication error negligence occur on a near-daily basis in the nursing home throughout the country. This negligence is often fueled by the understaffing of nursing homes, having too many residents in a nursing home, the hiring of unqualified employees with little pharmaceutical knowledge, and through overworking the nursing home staff.
Nursing Home Medication Error Lawsuits
The misadministration of medicine and other medication errors are a frequent and serious problem in nursing homes throughout the state of Florida and the rest of the country. Medication errors pose serious health risks to nursing home residents, many of which are already facing serious health conditions. Administering the wrong medication or even the wrong dosage could cause an already medically vulnerable resident to suffer dire consequences.
When a nursing home resident suffers a serious injury, further deterioration of his or her health, or death as a result of a medication error, the families of the victim may be able to seek compensation from the nursing home for its negligence by filing a nursing home abuse lawsuit. In a medication error lawsuit, the victim and possibly the victim’s family may be able to seek compensation for past and future medical bills, pain and suffering, loss of consortium, funeral expenses, punitive damages, and other damages.
Nursing Home Medication Error Lawyers
If your loved one has suffered serious injuries as a result of a medication error in a nursing home, it is important to contact an attorney immediately to protect your loved one’s rights. It is also critical that you choose a law firm with the experience and record of successfully handling nursing home medication error lawsuits. The attorneys of Abbott Law Group have proudly fought to protect the rights of the elderly population of Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach, St. Augustine, Orange Park, and the surrounding areas for well over three decades. They have successfully handled all types of nursing home abuse and nursing home negligence lawsuits, including a large number of cases involving medication errors. Call our nursing home abuse lawyers today to determine if you or your loved one may have a case against the nursing home responsible for keeping your loved one safe.