Do you suspect that your loved one in a nursing home experienced unnecessary medication errors? Medication errors often go unreported until a medical complication arises, despite the fact that 90% of these errors prove preventable when caregivers employ the proper reporting mechanisms, according to a discussion of error reporting and disclosure in Patient Safety and Quality.
With adequate monitoring and safety precaution when practicing medicine, caregivers can ensure their patients receive the correct medication. If you suspect your spouse or parent suffered from medication errors, our lawyers may help you build a case. Call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm.
Contributing Factors to Medication Errors
Each case of medication error differs, but some practices allow for more mistakes in prescribing and administering medication. A medical error may occur because:
- A pharmacist fills a prescription by verbal order vs. written
- The healthcare staff lacks adequate communication
- A caregiver fails to refill a medication or store it in its designated place
- An unexpected drug interaction happens
- Medical experts, caregivers, and pharmacists may confuse medications that sound familiar
- The nursing home administration fails to keep an orderly work environment
- The healthcare facility lacks authoritative decision-making
Medication error occurs at different levels, too. The NCC MERP Index for Categorizing Medication Errors, illustrates how medication errors range from harmless errors to errors that result in death.
When thinking about nursing homes for your loved one, keep in mind that if the potential for medication error exists, and even one medication error goes unreported, it can lead to a much bigger problem. A snowball effect of repeated medication errors happens when staff fails to report errors and potentially repeat them. If harm comes to your loved one after a medication error, it may signal a history of previously unreported medical errors.
Nursing Home Work Culture
Working in a nursing home comes with a high-pressure environment as well as an experience of emotional labor. In addition, nursing homes may suffer from understaffing, which can lead nursing home caregivers to burn out quickly, according to a study on the factors associated with and impact of burnout in nursing and residential home care workers for the elderly in Acta Biomedica. Also, the emotional labor associated with assisting patients in palliative care can easily exhaust caregivers, according to an article titled “Emotional Labour and Wellbeing: What Protects Nurses?” in Healthcare.Additionally, nursing homes must abide by strict regulations, so a staff member who reports an honest mistake with medication may fear termination. Some people would consider this kind of “one-error-and-done work” culture unhealthy, as it keeps staff from reporting errors, which may result in harm and sometimes death for patients.
Overall, the nursing home staff tends to experience:
- Highly chaotic working environments
- High patient-to-staff ratios
- A lack of supervision by higher management
- Lack of training for older people with special needs
- High-risk, low-wage responsibilities
The experience a nursing home employee may have does not excuse elder abuse, intentional or not. Being able to prove that your loved one’s nursing home staff failed to abide by regulations may help you build a case. Our lawyers can begin evaluating your case when you call us with your story. Call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm.
Building a Legal Case After a Nursing Home Medication Error
When you first decide to take action against your loved one’s nursing home for a medication error, your legal action may take the form of a lawsuit. Any previously reported cases of suspected abuse or neglect will only help you build a case for your loved one’s fair treatment.
After seeking any needed medical attention after an error, contact the Stickney Township Office on Aging at (708) 636-8850 or the Adult Protective Services Hotline at 1-866-800-1409. After reporting the nursing home, our Stickney medication errors lawyers may help determine your next steps in pursuing compensation for your loved one’s resulting injuries and losses.
Negligence Occurs, Even Unintentionally
Even unintentional medication errors classify as neglect under Illinois law because they violate residents’ rights for people in long-term care facilities. You may have a growing list of losses that someone else’s negligent behavior caused. Do not feel like you need to handle building a legal case alone. Our Stickney medication errors lawyers may help you every step of the way.
Some possible civil legal claims you may consider include negligence for personal injury, breach of contract, or medical malpractice. If your loved one died due to the negligence of a medical professional’s medication error, you may have a wrongful death claim.
Do not wait until the liable party takes responsibility for the losses they caused your family. Take action as soon as possible since Illinois has a statute of limitations on personal injury lawsuits and wrongful death lawsuits. If you wait longer than the allotted time to bring a lawsuit, you may lose your right to take any legal action at all. Call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm to begin your free case evaluation.
For a free legal consultation with a Medication Errors Lawyer serving Stickney, call (800) 794-0444
A Stickney Medication Errors Lawyer Can Review Your Case
Working with Pintas & Mullins Law Firm may help you protect the dignity or the legacy of your loved one without leaving your family with the scar of a bad nursing home experience. Our lawyers may help you with your legal case from start to finish, explaining which options prove most appropriate for you.
Do not tolerate medication errors in nursing homes—even a suspected case may bring liable parties to justice. For a free, no-obligation case evaluation, call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm.
Call or text (800) 794-0444 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
