Medication Errors In Nursing Homes Can Lead To A Florida Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Aside from disabilities, another reason people often place their loved ones in a nursing home’s care is because many elderly people experience forgetfulness and have moments of senility. Relatives look to nursing homes to take care of their loved ones so that accidents and injuries to their family members can be avoided.
One type of accident that should be avoided in a nursing home is prescription drug accidents. Because prescription drugs are a fact of life for elderly people and many elderly patients don’t remember if they took their medication, the nurses and other nursing home staff control and administer the medication to patients in the home to help prevent medication mishaps.
A big portion of nursing home care is to distribute the proper medication to the correct patients. However, sometimes wrongful death in South Florida nursing homes occurs due to medication errors.
Reasons Why Medication Errors in Florida Nursing Homes Happen Include:
- Nurse doesn’t verify she is giving the right medication to the right patient, resulting in dangerous drugs being given to the wrong person
- Medical files are not checked to verify a patient’s drug allergies
- Multiple medications are distributed that conflict with each other
- Overmedication
- Wrong dosage is distributed
Most medications are properly prescribed and administered; however, there are times in which residents of Florida nursing homes have been overly medicated or given the wrong medication or dosage, which has led to serious side effects, injuries and even death. This is considered a form of nursing home abuse in South Florida.
Nursing homes are supposed to protect your relatives and not harm them or cause their death. If your loved one died as a result of a medication error, you may have a right to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit in South Florida for your pain and suffering.
To find out more about your rights, contact a trusted wrongful death attorney in Fort Lauderdale at the Law Offices of David Benenfeld at 954-677-0155 for help in your fight to seek justice.
