Nursing Home Medication Errors: Causes & Signs

Unfortunately for nursing home residents living out their most vulnerable years in the care and under the control of others, cost-saving measures such as understaffing or undertraining staff causes many problems, among them errors related to medication administration.

The nursing home lawyers at MSW Law Group explain what to do if you suspect medication errors, how to prove the nursing home was negligent in administering medication, how to report nursing home medication errors, the types of medication errors that occur in nursing homes, and the cause of nursing home medication errors.

Do you suspect your family member received the wrong medication, the wrong amount of medication, or hasn’t received the medication they should when they should? Call the nursing home lawyers at MSW Law Group for help.

What to Do if You Suspect Improper Medication Handling in a Nursing Home

If you visit and note a physical, mental, or emotional change in your family member, ask to review their medications or to speak with their doctor to review the medications they are taking. It may be your loved one needs an adjustment in their medications, or to cease medications or begin new medications, or it may be that your loved one is suffering from a medication error.

Proving Negligence in Nursing Home Medication Errors

Serious medication errors causing conditions to worsen, new conditions to appear, or death constitute medical malpractice. Medical malpractice is a specific form of negligence under the law. You must show the nursing home had a duty to properly administer medication, which they do, and that they breached that duty and caused your loved one harm.

Reporting Medication Errors in a Nursing Home

If your loved one is suffering from a life-threatening emergency due to a medication error, call 911. Otherwise, discuss your loved one’s medications with their doctor or medical team and ask about current medications and whether a mistake occurred or your loved one needs to change medications. 

If you are unsatisfied with their response, contact your state’s nursing home ombudsman to register your concern about the quality of care your loved one is getting and contact an experienced nursing home lawyer for help.

Types of Medication Errors

• Giving Medication to Wrong Patient
• Administering Incorrect Dose
• Giving Wrong Medication
• Failing to Provide Adequate Liquid with Medications
• Failing to Administer Medication with Food When Indicated
• Failing to Administer Medication with an Antacid When Indicated
• Failing to Mix or Shake Medication
• Failing to Timely Administer Medication
• Improper Mixing of Medications
• Skipping Medications
• Incorrectly Documenting the Time Medication was Given
• Administering Expired Medications
• Using an Incorrect Method of Administering Medication
• Not Following Nutritional Guides

Causes of Medication Errors

Nursing homes are required to keep residents safe and care for their medical and personal needs. Among other duties, nursing homes must:

• Avoid prescribing new medications without informing the family
• Follow all error reporting guidelines 
• Keep track of each patient’s medications
• Properly administer medications to residents
• Put resident safety first by observing a resident and getting help if side effects appear
• Understand residents’ medical history

Unfortunately, these requirements are not always met and residents suffer medication mistakes due to:

Negligence

If a nursing home does not have the procedures in place to have the correct medications on hand when needed, or fails to follow those procedures, medications errors can occur.

Understaffing

If a nursing home is understaffed, the staff the facility does have may be overworked, tired, or distracted while administering medications. 

Poor Training

If the staff administering medications borrow from one patient to give medication to another, this can be misdocumented and cause medication errors. Poor training also leads to improper medication administration methods and ignoring doctor’s orders to cease, change, or add medications.

Diversions of Medication

Staff may divert medication for their own use or to sell to others, recording the medication as being administered to residents.

Talk with a Nursing Home Lawyer

An experienced nursing home lawyer helps your loved one get the medications they need, helps you hold the nursing home accountable for their negligence, and helps you get compensation for your loved one’s suffering. Call MSW Law Group today to discuss your case.