Medication Errors in Denver Nursing Homes
When you make the difficult decision to place your loved one into a nursing home, you trust that they will receive the care they need. Unfortunately, sometimes negligent nursing home employees give residents the wrong medicine or dosage or fail to provide them with their medication at all. Those mistakes can lead to unnecessary illnesses or deaths.
If you believe your family member fell ill because of a medication error made in a Denver nursing home, you might have grounds to pursue a civil lawsuit. A skilled nursing home abuse attorney could help you hold those responsible for making the mistake accountable for your family’s losses.
Types of Medication Errors in Local Long-Term Care Facilities
Because nursing home residents are elderly or have disabling health conditions, they often need regular over-the-counter and prescription medicine. Sadly, medication mistakes are among the most common causes of undue harm in Denver nursing homes. Employees need to act diligently to prevent errors in administering medicine to their residents.
The most common medication mistakes in local nursing homes include:
- Missed medication – A nursing home employee’s failure to administer necessary medicine at the correct time
- Incorrect dosage – A staff member’s failure to account for their patient’s size and weight when prescribing or administering medication, or a doctor’s mislabeling of a drug’s strength
- Wrong patient – An employee who is overworked or inattentive may mix up prescription orders and give a medication to the wrong patient
- Wrong medication – Giving a patient the wrong medicine, resulting in physical or even fatal consequences
Our Denver attorneys have extensive experience in investigating nursing home drug administration errors. A member of our legal team could meet with a resident and their family to discuss what happened and interview other residents and staff members to document what they witnessed.
How to Avoid Drug Errors in Nursing Homes
Doctors who fail to account for their patient’s medical history when prescribing medication can be held liable for medical malpractice. Otherwise, nursing home employees who do not administer medicine to residents in strict accordance with the doctor’s prescription may be found negligent by a Denver civil court.
Because so many nursing home residents rely on multiple medications, it is the staff’s responsibility to establish a protocol for safely administering medicine in order to avoid unnecessary contraindications and follow the proper procedure every time. Nursing homes are also expected to keep track of medication administration by recording each dosage either on paper or on a computer.
Our team of seasoned attorneys could review the individual resident’s medication administration record to look for any discrepancies and identify who made the mistake. A lawyer could also review the nursing home’s policies to determine whether it had a system in place to successfully manage the administration of medicine and if they properly trained their employees in how to avoid dangerous errors.
Ask an Attorney about Medication Mistakes in Denver Nursing Homes
If you fear that your loved one suffered a serious injury due to medication errors in a Denver nursing home, reach out to our team for legal assistance. You deserve justice for your loved one’s suffering. Our attorneys could meet with you and let you know if you have a viable case for compensation. Call today for assistance with holding the staff member and nursing home responsible for the mistake legally accountable in court.
