Nursing Home Negligence - Medication Errors
Written and edited by our team of expert legal content writers and reviewed and approved by Daniel Harwin
- Content last updated on:
- September 27, 2024
At Freedland Harwin Valori Gander, PL, we help victims in Florida pursue compensation after incidents involving medication errors. Administering the wrong medication to a nursing home resident can be deadly. Dangerous drug interactions or reactions within the individual can cause serious health problems and complications from which a senior might never be able to recover. It is a nursing home’s legal duty to properly administer the correct prescriptions and dosages to all residents. Failure to do so – negligently or intentionally – means the facility could be liable for the victim’s damages.
Dangers of Medication Errors in Nursing Homes
If a nursing home staff member, doctor, or nurse administers the wrong type of medication to a resident serious physical repercussions can result. Not only could the drug have a negative effect on the individual, but failure to receive the correct medication could also be harmful.
Medication errors can impact a senior citizen in minor or major ways depending on the situation. There is a chance that a negligent nursing home could even be responsible for the wrongful death of a resident due to administering the wrong medication. In Florida, the civil justice system gives victims of medication errors (and their family members, in the event of wrongful death or if the victim is physically or mentally incapable of bringing the claim) the right to pursue money damages in the face of abuse or neglect.
If you or a loved one suffered physical injuries, illnesses, or other harm, you could recover these losses. The same is true for emotional distress, mental anguish, and other non-economic damages. Talk to one of our lawyers about the specific damages you could be eligible to recover because of a medication error.
Who Is Liable for Nursing Home Medication Errors?
“Liability” refers to legal responsibility for someone else’s damages. Many personal injury and wrongful death claims involve the liability of more than one party; for example, both a nursing home and an individual doctor could be liable for a medication error if both shared responsibility for the mistake. Injured parties must identify the appropriate defendants before they can file claims against anyone. The following parties could all be potential defendants in a nursing home wrong medication case:
- The nursing home. It could be liable for a medication error if it did something that contributed to the mistake, such as failing to properly train employees or to maintain medication administering machines. It is also be vicariously liable for the mistakes of its employee staff members.
- An individual staff member. The victim can bring a claim against an individual doctor or other health care practitioner. If the medication error was the result of a doctor prescribing the wrong medication, the same is true.
- Pharmacy. There is a chance that your loved one took the incorrect medication because an error filling a prescription. For example, if the establishment filling your loved one’s prescription misread the doctor’s handwriting and issued the wrong medication, the pharmacy itself could be liable.
- Drug Manufacturer. If the error traces all the way back to a defect at the drug manufacturing company, the nursing home resident could file a claim against the manufacturer in the form of a product liability lawsuit.
- Property Owner. Sometimes the property owner can be responsible if they were aware of certain negligent acts and fail to take action.
Medication errors in nursing home settings could result in personal injury, medical malpractice, or product liability lawsuits, depending on the circumstances. To find out more about your specific case, you contact a lawyer. Submit an online request to speak to someone from Freedland Harwin Valori Gander, PL, at no cost or obligation.
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