Ventura County Medication Errors Lawyer

Older adults who reside in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities often need a range of medications on a daily basis to manage chronic health conditions and long-term health concerns. In addition, many of these elderly residents also require shorter-term medications for infections and illnesses. Much too often, a mistake by a prescribing health care provider or by a nursing home employee administering a medication results in a resident’s injury. When this happens, the consequences can be devastating. While medication errors can cause severe and fatal harm to a patient of any age, these concerns are much more pronounced among older adult populations at nursing homes and assisted-living facilities.

If you have an elderly loved one who was harmed by a medication mistake, it is extremely important to seek legal help. An experienced Ventura County medication error lawyer can assist you.

What are medication errors in Ventura County nursing homes, and how can you identify them? Medication mistakes can take a wide range of forms, and various parties can be responsible and liable for them. Generally speaking, when a medication error results in a nursing home resident injury, the nursing home is often liable for the harm, even if an employee made the mistake. The following are common types of medication errors that can affect older adults in Southern California:

• Prescribing errors;
• Recordkeeping errors;
• Administration errors;
• Diagnostic errors;
• Communication errors or problems;
• Documentation errors; and
• Dispensing errors.

These types of medication errors, along with many others, are preventable, yet they often result from negligence. Health care providers who prescribe medications, medical records technicians, nurses and other employees who administer medications, and pharmacists can all make mistakes that can lead to devastating nursing home resident injuries.

How do nursing home medication errors happen? The following types of circumstances are common examples:

• Prescribing the wrong medication or the incorrect dosage;
• Prescribing a medication that is known to have a harmful interaction with other drugs the patient is currently taking;
• Improperly administering a medication;
• Error in filling the prescription, such as filling the wrong drug or wrong dosage;
• Medical records mistake that leads to a drug being prescribed that harmfully interacts with the patient’s other medications or that the patient has an allergy to; or
• Communication mistakes between the patient and a provider or medication administrator that leads to harm.

According to the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP), the above causes of medication errors are common but avoidable.

Residents of nursing homes and assisted-living facilities in Ventura County should never experience harm or injuries because of a preventable medication mistake. If you have an elderly loved one who was administered the incorrect dosage or wrong medication, or improperly administered a prescribed drug, it is important to seek legal advice about filing a claim. One of the experienced Ventura County medication error attorneys at our firm can speak with you today to learn more about the circumstances in which your elderly loved one was injured, and we can discuss options with you for holding the facility accountable. Contact the Southern California Nursing Home Law Group today to learn more about the services we provide to families and older adults in Ventura County and throughout Southern California.