Scott M. Kuboff, Esq. is a Chardon Ohio Nursing Home Medication Error Attorney with the law firm of Lowe Scott Fisher Co, LPA who helps his clients receive fair and just compensation for injuries resulting from medication errors in Ohio’s nursing homes.
MEDICATION ERRORS
A medication error is the preparation or administration of drugs that do not follow (1) a doctor’s order, (2) the manufacturer’s recommendations and specifications, or (3) accepted medical standards.
Medication Errors in Nursing Homes
Generally speaking, nursing home residents should be free from significant medication errors or, in other words, those errors which cause the resident to feel discomfort or that jeopardizes his or her health and safety.
For example, providing a resident Tylenol without a doctor’s order may be a “medication error” but is likely not significant. On the other hand, failing to provide an ordered laxative for several days which causes fecal impaction is significant because it jeopardizes the resident’s health and safety.
Common nursing home medication errors include:
Omissions — failing to administer an ordered drug
Unauthorized Drug — administering a drug without a physician’s order
Wrong Dose — administering a higher or lower dosage of an ordered drug
Wrong Route — administering a drug in the wrong manner (e.g. oral medication injected into a vein, ear drops into the resident’s eye, etc.)
Wrong Drug – administering a different drug than intended
Wrong Time – administering a drug outside the scheduled time
Failure to Follow Specifications or Standards – failing to shake medications, mix suspension, or crushing pills that should not be crushed
Nursing Home Abuse
Medication errors are preventable. Understaffing, poor training, and inattention lead to elderly residents needlessly suffering from receiving the wrong medication or the right medication at the wrong time, dose or route. While most medication errors are not significant, some cause serious injury, illness or death. A Chardon Ohio nursing home abuse lawyer will advocate for your loved one and hold the nursing home accountable.
