Nursing Home Medication Errors Linked to Death
Earlier this month, Minnesota state health investigators indicated that an 82-year-old woman’s death was caused by a nursing home medication error and at least two others were injured by a facility that confused the drugs it gave to residents on several occasions. Unfortunately, this story is not a unique situation and careless nursing homes that fail to take steps to avoid medication errors cause injuries for residents too often.
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According to a report by Minnesota Public Radio, the Minnesota Department of Health has confirmed that Fair Oaks Lodge in Wadena committed at least three preventable nursing home medication mistakes between May 27, 2009 and June 12, 2009. The facility has been cited for nursing home neglect due to the drug errors, which involved two residents being given the wrong medicine and a third getting medication at the wrong time. One woman with Alzheimers contracted pneumonia after being given the wrong drugs by the nursing home, and she died several days after the medication error.
While the facility’s administrators tried to attribute the tragedy to “a single employee who made an error,” according to a report in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune, nursing home medication errors should never occur and can be prevented. The Minnesota Department of Health indicated that four staff members at the facility were involved, and found that there was a “system failure on the part of the facility.”
Prescription errors and medication mistakes cause more than one million injuries and deaths in the U.S. each year. They are considered preventable errors, but many nursing homes and long-term care facilities take few of the steps that could prevent these sometimes lethal accidents from occurring.
NURSING HOME PRESCRIPTION MISTAKE LAWYERS
The nursing home neglect lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. investigate potential cases for serious injuries or death caused by medication mistakes and other incidents of nursing home negligence. To review a potential claim for yourself, a friend or family member, request a free consultation and medical malpractice claim evaluation.
I just lost my mother in October. When she was admitted she supposedly just had pneumonia but after being in the hospital a few days she turned for the worse and went into a coma. when they started doing test they found out she had an incurrable infection and had been overdosed on blood thinners.she died about a month to amonthhalf after nursing home admitted her