A nursing home is losing its certification after several reported cases of wrong medication dosing. According to official reports, in many instances, severely needed medication was delayed, not given, or never ordered even though medical staff was directed to do so by physicians. Some of the errors include administering what was supposed to be a one-time dose as a daily dose given for 23 days, giving a patient 28 units of penicillin when only 3 units were ordered, and giving powerful antibiotic once every seven days instead of every day for seven days.

When one falls victim to a nursing home medication error, medical malpractice has occurred that can leave victims severely harmed or dead. These patients may face a long physical and emotional recovery. Additionally, victims and their families will have to pay for the additional medical care to heal them of the mistake’s effects.

If you suspect your loved one is not being properly taken care of by the nursing home they reside in, and the nursing home staff has made a medication error, a Michigan nursing home neglect lawsuit may be sought. (more…)

Our medical malpractice Michigan lawyers will help you if you believe that your loved one has suffered injuries due to a medication mistake or error. The negligent medical provider may be liable for significant damages for the failure to provide appropriate treatment, especially when the injuries and damages caused by the improper treatment are substantial. We handle cases involving injuries and deaths caused by medication errors and mistakes at a nursing home, assisted living facility, long term care facility or even hospitals.

In many cases, the patient is either prescribed the wrong medication, given the wrong drug, or provided with the wrong dose of the medication. The results are often devastating, causing severe illness and even death.

Preventing Medical Mistakes & Errors In a Michigan Nursing Home

Below is a list ways nursing homes can help prevent medication mistakes and errors from occurring.

• a safety culture is pivotal to improving medication safety (encourage voluntary reporting)
• senior management must devote adequate attention to safety
• provide sufficient resources to quality improvement and safety teams
• authorize resources to invest in technologies, such as computerized provider order entry (CPOE) and electronic health records

How Can Prescribers Help?

Listed below are ways prescribers can contribute to helping reduce the number of medication mistakes and errors.

• use sound medical reconciliation techniques
• avoid verbal orders except in emergencies
• avoid abbreviations (U for units seen as a 0)
• inform patients of reasons for all medications
• work as a team with consultant pharmacists and nurses
• use special caution with high-risk medication
• report errors and ADEs (more…)

Our Michigan nursing home medication mistake attorneys represent clients and their families in cases relating to nursing home medication errors and mistakes. In many cases, the patient is either prescribed the wrong medication, given the wrong medication, or provided with the wrong dose of the medication. The results are often devastating, causing severe illness and even death.

There are a number of diseases that require an array of prescription medications, including:
– High blood pressure
– Diabetes
– Parkinson’s disease
– Alzheimer’s disease

In fact, Americans aged 75 and older take an average of more than 11 different medications over a one-year period, according to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). The elderly account for about 13 percent of the population, they make up about 35 percent of all prescriptions filled.

Medication Errors In Michigan Nursing Homes

Well-run nursing home facilities that are adequately staffed with detail-oriented and dedicated employees have few problems correctly administering medications. However, if the nursing home facility is under-staffed or has undertrained employees, there is a chance that your loved one may receive the wrong medication or the incorrect dosage. Unfortunately, prescription drug errors are a common mistake made in nursing home facilities. The two most common mistakes are administering the wrong medication and overmedicating patients.  These mistakes and errors can have devastating outcomes.

Wrong Medication Administered In Michigan Nursing Homes

Nursing home neglect and abuse can take several forms. The most common type of abuse is nursing home negligence, in which overworked or undertrained employees become careless and make unintentional mistakes. Giving one elderly resident a medication that is prescribed for another resident can have serious ramifications.  Dangerous, sometimes fatal side effects can occur. Additionally, some medications must be administered on a consistent basis in order to be effective and safe. Sporadic use can actually cause more harm than benefit in these cases. (more…)

Buckfire & Buckfire P.C contain the most experienced Michigan medical mistakes attorneys.  We represent patients and their families for injuries suffered from medication mistakes while in a Michigan assisted living facility or nursing home. Often, these medication mistakes anderros result in serious injuries or even death to the patient.

About 1.5 million preventable adverse drug mistakes occur every year in the United States.  Often these medical mistakes resulted in permanent injury of even death.  Many studies state that the majority of medication mistakes are the result of mistakes made by nurses or physicians.

The National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCC MERP) defines a medication mistake as: “A medication error is any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the health care professional, patient, or consumer. Such events may be related to professional practice, health care products, procedures, and systems, including prescribing; order communication; product labeling, packaging, and nomenclature; compounding; dispensing; distribution; administration; education; monitoring; and use.”

The classification of Medical Mistakes

Below are the common classification of medical errors and mistakes.

• A: circumstances exist for potential errors to occur
• B: an error occurred but did not reach the patient
• C: error reached the patient but did not cause harm
• D: patient monitoring required to determine lack of harm
• E: error caused temporary harm and some intervention
• F: temporary harm with initial or prolonged hospitalization
• G: error resulted in permanent patient harm
• H: error required intervention to sustain the patient’s life
• I: error contributed to the patient’s death (more…)

Nursing homes patients and residents are expected to get proper and ethical medical care and treatment. Nevertheless, people may be overwhelmed to hear that their loved ones may be subjected to inaccurate dosing, getting prescribed the wrong drug and other errors related to medicines. One of the prevalent causes of medication errors is the incorrect use of prescription medications.

The Buckfire & Buckfire P.C. Michigan nursing home neglect attorneys specialize in medication errors and filing lawsuits against Michigan nursing homes on behalf of patients or family member. Medication errors can cause serious injury to a Michigan nursing home patient, even death.

A recent 12 month observational study has revealed the possibility of serious medication errors in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.  18 nursing homes participated in the study, which consisted of around 28,839 nursing home residents.

Medication Errors & Nursing Homes

Below are some statistics documented throughout the 12 month study.

• 546 drug events occurred
• 1 fatality due to medication error happened
• 31 ( 6%) of the medication errors were life-threatening
• 206 (38%) of the medication errors were serious (more…)