Nursing Home Medication Errors

Our Firm Assists Patients Injured by New Jersey Nursing Home Medication Errors

Let our lawyer-doctor evaluate your claim

Providing quality medical care is one of the most important responsibilities of nursing home staff. This vital task includes prescribing appropriate medications, administering the drugs on schedule and monitoring patients for adverse side effects. When the assisted living facility makes a pharmaceutical error, seniors may suffer devastating repercussions.

Established in 1976, Seigel Law represents the most vulnerable members of our community. We hold nursing homes in Ridgewood, Hackensack, Fair Lawn, Teaneck, Garfield, Fort Lee, Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, Elizabeth and Clifton to their duties to their residents. Our attorneys thoroughly investigate the care your loved one received and demand accountability for medical mistakes that harmed the person.

How pharmaceutical mistakes happen in the assisted living setting

Medication errors are alarmingly common in any medical setting. However, drug mistakes can be particularly devastating to the health of patients with compromised immune systems, serious underlying medical conditions and low weight.

Nursing home personnel are notoriously overworked and underpaid for the responsibilities with which they are charged. But these issues are no excuse for poor care. Our attorneys determine whether these types of problems caused your loved one’s injuries:

  • Inadequate screening for harmful drug interactions and risk factors
  • Failure to monitor patient for overdose, under-dose or adverse side effects
  • Impairment of cognitive abilities or balance that led to nursing home fall injuries
  • Nausea and vomiting associated with certain drugs that resulted in severe dehydration or malnutrition
  • Inappropriate drug prescribed to treat a patient’s specific condition
  • Mix-up of patients and thus the medications intended for them
  • Dosing errors, including misreading the amount to administer and spacing doses too close together or too far apart

Protecting your loved one from a drug error

Your family member may be unable or unwilling to speak out about problems at the nursing home. Possibly, your loved one does not even realize a dangerous condition exists. You can take action to prevent nursing home injuries, including those caused by drug errors, by taking the following steps:

  • Familiarize yourself with all medications your loved one is taking.
  • Take a picture of the pills so you can identify them when the nurse administers medication.
  • Immediately raise alarms if you suspect the nurse has administered an inaccurate type or amount of the drug.
  • Promptly alert the doctor if you notice any adverse reactions to the medication or your loved one exhibits signs of overdose.

You should assume that the harm done to your loved one is not isolated. Usually, an assault on the elderly, fall injuries, bedsores, medication mix-ups or other serious transgressions represent a pattern. By bringing the issues to the forefront, you not only help your loved one, but also the other residents at the negligent facility.

Protect your loved one’s rights

Seigel Law is dedicated to protecting nursing home residents in northern New Jersey long-term care facilities. Call our law firm at 201-444-4000 or contact us online to schedule your free initial consultation with a doctor-lawyer from our Ridgewood medical malpractice team. If your injuries or caretaker duties prevent you from coming to our office, we schedule your appointment in your home or at the hospital. Through our contingency arrangement, you are not responsible for lawyer fees unless we recover damages on your claim.