Common Medical Errors in Nursing Homes You Need to Know

Common and repeating mistakes in nursing homes are often the cause of serious personal injury. They can even be deadly in certain situations. In a series of studies, the most common mistakes in nursing homes were found to be administering medications to the wrong resident and or giving the wrong dose to a resident. Many of Illinois' nursing homes have been cited for medication errors and other violations.  With over 700 nursing homes, one third of Illinois' nursing homes have been ranked below average or much below average by Medicare. 

To learn if the nursing homes in Evanston are among these low-ranked nursing homes, download our nursing home report.  

Families rely on nursing home facilities to care for their loved ones with caution and accuracy. Often the reason that families turn to skilled nursing facilities is because elderly care can be hard to handle. If you feel that a loved one has been a victim of medication error while staying at a nursing home, call a nursing home neglect attorney today.

The research report, “Medication errors in nursing homes,” from nursingtime.net reported that “In 2009, The Care Homes’ Use of Medicines Study found medication administration errors during drug rounds occurred in one in five residents and in one in eight administrations – for every eight medicines given on the drug round, there was one error[i].” Such errors are serious and can be life threatening. Residents are administered medications by their physicians to treat their individual health needs. Incorrect administrations are not tolerated by nursing home abuse lawyers or by the law.

A nurse’s failure to administer medication correctly is most often associated with the following incidents according to studies—

Mistaken Patient Identity

A nurse who givesmedication to the wrong resident because he or she failed to verify the patient’s identification before administering the medication. This often occurs when a nurse fails to check a resident’s identification bracelet before administering a drug. Sometimes, the result of mistaken resident identity can be so serious that the same resident can receive a second dose of the same medication or receive a medication that has adverse effects when mixed with their correct medication, thus leading to serious injuries or fatalities.

Inaccurate Dosage of Medication

This can occur when a nurse gives an inaccurate dose to a resident causing the resident to suffer severe injuries and/or death. This often occurs because of miscommunication between multiple staff members and or a nurse who becomes confused from distraction if the nursing facility is understaffed.

No matter what the mistake is, if your loved one suffered injury or death due to a medical error, you and your family may be eligible to receive legal compensation to recover from medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. 

Call Malman Law today for a free consultation and legal advice with a nursing home attorney.

[i] Information retrieved from Alldred DP et al (2009) Care Home Use of Medicines Study (CHUMS). Medication Errors in Nursing and Residential Care Homes – Prevalence, Consequences, Causes and Solutions. Report to the Patient Safety Research Portfolio, Dept of Health.