Medication Errors In Nursing Homes Due To Neglect Or Abuse

Monday, August 30, 2021

Medication Errors In Nursing Homes Due To Neglect Or Abuse

Written by Malman Law, reviewed by Steve J. Malman.

According to The American Journal of Managed Care, as many as anywhere between 16-27% of all reported nursing home residents in America could suffer injuries from negligence and abuse related to medication error. A Chicago nursing home abuse and neglect attorney can help you or your loved one.

Adequate medication access, dosage, and medication quality are all essential facets of maintaining one’s vitality. For some, it can be an essential facet of maintaining the difference between life and death. 

A healthy medication regimen is an important facet in the lives of many people, but it’s a particularly noted and important one in the lives of many elderly people. Per the Kaiser Family Foundation, approximately just over half (54%) of all Americans aged 65 and older routinely use four or more prescription medicines.

It’s crucial that our most vulnerable are properly supervised by caretakers who understand the importance of medication in their lives. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case, and whether accidentally or maliciously, caretakers may sometimes harm their patients with improper medication usage. 

Find out more about these medication errors, and find out how a trusted Chicago nursing home abuse lawyer can help you rectify those errors.

Common Medication Errors

Intentionally or unintentionally, medication dosage, administration, and quality can all be tampered with in a vast number of ways. Proper medication usage can all be affected and disrupted by:

• Cutting and slicing pills that shouldn’t be sliced
• Improperly mixing or shaking medication
• Providing inadequate medication liquid
• Having residents swallow sublingual medication
• Giving the wrong medication or medication form
• Administering expired medication 
• Giving too little, too much, or no medication at all

It’s important to note that not all of these errors may have been committed with knowing or malicious intent. Even so, the person committing them is still employed as a caretaker, still failed to uphold their duty of care, and can still be legally held to account for their actions.

Malicious intent or not, these errors still constitute negligence, and negligence can most certainly constitute elder abuse. Elder abuse is believed to be an epidemic affecting over five million Americans per year (per the National Council On Aging), and sometimes, improperly administered cures can be part of that epidemic.

It’s best to report these issues ASAP, both to trusted elder abuse resources, and to local law enforcement if the victim’s life is in imminent danger. Following that point, if the abuser fails to be held to account, then a Chicago nursing home abuse lawyer should be hired to help hold them to account. 

Consider Our Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys For Your Medication Error Case

We know disturbing and distressing it can be for caretakers to breach and violate their duty of care, and medication errors can certainly be a very grievous violation of that duty. 

It’s best to resolve these errors with the assistance of a trusted, competent Chicago nursing home abuse lawyer, and we hope you’ll consider inquiring about our firm when doing so.

Contact us today to learn more, arrange a free consultation, and determine if our services are right for you!