Johns Creek, Georgia Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys – Medication Errors

Patients in a nursing home are often unable to keep track of their medications or manage their medications on their own. Typically, nursing home staff will monitor prescriptions, arrange doctor's visits for necessary prescriptions, and administer medications as required. Making sure that patients get the right medication in the correct dosage is, in fact, one of the most important tasks performed by nursing homes since medication is often life-sustaining for seniors. Unfortunately, as Atlanta nursing home abuse attorneys, we know that medication errors can and do happen every day in nursing homes. In some cases, these medication errors are harmless while in other instances they can lead to serious consequences, up-to-and-including death.

If you have been the victim of a medication error in a nursing home or if you have lost a loved one due to death caused by a nursing home medication error, you have legal rights. Contact an experienced Johns Creek, Georgia nursing home abuse attorney for information on how to take action against the nursing home to recover compensation for all losses associated with the medication error.

Johns Creek, Georgia Nursing Home Neglect and Medication Errors

In many cases, seniors must have precise doses of medication and the medication must be administered properly in order to for the seniors to stay healthy. When a nursing home admits a patient, they assume responsibility for providing care for that patient.

Administering medication is a part of that responsibility and, in most nursing homes, medication is administered as part of a procedure called a "med-pass.A med-pass involves a nurse or other staff member taking medications on a cart to patients on a designated schedule. The process of organizing and dispensing the medication in the med pass can take as long as four to five hours depending on the nursing home size and, like all tasks that nursing homes do for their patients, administration of medication must be done with reasonable skill and care.

Unfortunately, many different types of medication errors occur in nursing homes. Whether because of poor nursing home policies, bad staff training or screening of staff, disinterested or overworked staffed or understaffed nursing homes, mediation errors are all-too-common. Some examples of different types of medication errors that occur include:

• Failing to administer medication to a patient
• Administering the wrong medication
• Administering the wrong dose of medication
• Crushing medications that shouldn't be crushed
• Failure to "shake wellwhen required, which can lead to an underdose or an overdose
• Insulin suspension problems, including a failure to mix the suspension without creating air bubbles.
• Failure to provide adequate fluids when required or to administer food with medication as directed
• Delivering eyedrops without insuring sufficient eye contact for a sufficient length of time
• Allowing residents to swallow medications that are supposed to dissolve under the tongue.

These are just some of the many different types of medication errors that can occur in nursing homes due to neglect or due to insufficient policies on medication administration.

Getting Help from A Johns Creek, Georgia Nursing Home Abuse Attorney

When a medication error occurs, the consequences can vary depending on what the error was and the type of medication. A patient's underlying medical condition could become worse; the patient could experience unsafe drug interactions; the patient could experience severe side effects due to an overdose or incorrect medication; and a patient could even die as a result of receiving the wrong medication.

Whenever a patient suffers any type of injury as a result of a medication error, the nursing home should be held accountable and made to pay all associated costs. These costs can include medical bills necessary to treat the damage done by the medication error; compensation for pain and suffering and emotional distress; or wrongful death damages for family members who lose a loved one.

Do You Suspect Your Loved One Is Being Subjected To Nursing Home Abuse?

If you believe your loved one may be the victim of nursing home neglect or abuse you should speak with an experienced
nursing home abuse attorney as soon as possible.  Please contact us online or call our office directly at 855.GA.INJURY or
404.991.5950 to schedule your free consultation.