Do Prescription Errors Happen in Long-Term Care Facilities?

Long-term care facilities are where we often move loved ones so they will get the specialized care they need. But does that care do more harm than good sometimes? The answer can be “Yes,” when treatments are incorrect. For example, prescription errors can occur in any medical setting causing injuries, including long-term care facilities and you should confer with a Sarasota personal injury attorney for help.

What Are Prescription  Errors and Who’s Responsible?

Any of the following situations could be considered prescriptions errors:

• A healthcare provider prescribes the wrong medication or the wrong dosage.
• Pharmacists dispense the wrong medication or the wrong strength.
• Medical professionals overlook potentially fatal drug interactions and allergies.
• Staff fail to provide food or liquids with medications that require them.
• Nursing home staff ignore doctor’s orders, fail to prepare the medication or the patient, or incorrectly administer medications.

As you can see, anyone involved with a patient’s medication could be guilty of making prescription errors. And such mistakes are far more common than most people realize.

How Often Do Prescription Errors Occur?

Studies vary. One study showed that there’s an “8% to 25% median medication error rate.” The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) receives around 100,000 reports of suspected medication errors annually.

Logically, prescription mistakes are more likely to happen with groups who take more medications. Older patients, including those in long-term care facilities, generally take more drugs than most younger people. And patients in nursing homes are often unable to tell when they are given the wrong meds.

What Are the Consequences, Both for Patients and Healthcare Professionals?

When patients are the victims of prescription errors, they face:

• Anaphylactic shock or other severe allergic reaction,
• Organ damage or failure,
• Physical harm caused by passing out or falling,
• Prolonged hospital stays,
• Fear, depression, and mental disorders

Healthcare providers that commit medication errors could:

• Lose their jobs,
• Lose their licenses,
• Feel distressed that they harmed someone, and
• Be sued by patients or their family members.

We recommend that patients harmed by prescription errors and their families discuss their case with an experienced personal injury attorney. Compensation for damages could be available.

When Prescription Errors Happen, People Get Hurt.

And if you have been hurt because of someone else’s negligence, you need help from top-rated, hard-working representation. At Shapiro|Delgado, our attorneys put their injury law experience to work for you. And we handle cases on a contingency basis, which means we don’t get paid unless you do.

We represent clients throughout Florida, including Sarasota, Bradenton, Tampa, Saint Petersburg, Pinellas County, and surrounding communities.

To set up a free personal consultation, call 941-954-4000 or use our convenient online contact form.

Your family counts on you.
You can count on us.