Bridgeport Nursing Home Medication Error Lawyers

Attorneys Addressing Nursing Home Injuries Related to Medications in Bridgeport, Connecticut

Medication management is critical for people who receive care in nursing homes. Elderly people living in long-term care facilities may take multiple medications daily to manage chronic conditions, control symptoms, and maintain their overall health. When nursing home staff members make mistakes involving medications, the consequences can be devastating. These errors can lead to serious health complications for vulnerable nursing home residents who depend on caregivers to manage their complex medication regimens correctly.

At nursing homes, proper systems for medication ordering, storage, administration, and monitoring can help prevent errors. When facilities cut corners through inadequate staffing, insufficient training, or lack of proper oversight, they can put the health and well-being of residents at risk. At Tremont Sheldon P.C., our attorneys can help families determine whether nursing home negligence was responsible for harm to their loved ones, and we can work to make sure these issues will be addressed correctly.

Types of Medication Errors in Nursing Homes

Medication mistakes in long-term care settings take various forms, including:

• Wrong Medication Administration: One resident may receive drugs that were prescribed for another resident, or a person could receive medications they are not supposed to take. These errors may happen when staff members do not carefully verify each patient's identity before giving medications or when medications get mixed up due to similar-looking packages.
• Incorrect Dosage Errors: Giving too much or too little of prescribed medications can cause patients to suffer harm. Overdoses can cause toxicity, with effects ranging from mild symptoms to organ damage or death. Underdoses may prevent a person from receiving the therapeutic benefits of medications, allowing medical conditions to worsen. These errors occur when staff members misread prescription orders, miscalculate doses, or make mistakes during medication preparation.
• Missed Doses: Staff members may fail to administer medications at scheduled times. When residents do not receive medications consistently, their conditions may deteriorate. Blood sugar levels in diabetic residents can fluctuate dangerously when insulin doses are skipped. Heart rhythms may become unstable when cardiac medications are missed. Repeated missed doses can cause serious medical crises that proper administration would have prevented.
• Wrong Route Administration: Medications may be given through incorrect methods. A medication meant to be swallowed might be injected, or a topical cream might be administered orally. These errors can cause serious harm. Medications formulated for specific routes of administration may be dangerous or ineffective when given differently.
• Allergic Reactions: Failure to recognize and document allergies can lead to the administration of medications that residents should never receive. When staff members do not check allergy lists or when facilities fail to maintain accurate allergy records, residents may be given drugs that can trigger reactions ranging from mild rashes to life-threatening anaphylaxis.
• Medication Interaction Errors: When medications are prescribed without an adequate review of what residents are already taking, drugs may interact with each other in dangerous ways. Nursing homes should have systems to identify potential interactions before medications are administered. Failures in these systems can put residents at risk of adverse drug events.
• Lack of Monitoring for Side Effects: Serious reactions may progress if patients are not monitored after medications are administered. When nursing homes do not perform required monitoring or fail to respond to concerning findings, residents may experience complications that could have been prevented or minimized with proper oversight.

How Medication Errors Affect Elderly Residents

The impact of medication mistakes on nursing home residents can be severe and long-lasting due to their age and often fragile health status. Adverse drug reactions can cause symptoms that may initially seem like new medical problems rather than medication errors. Residents may experience nausea, vomiting, dizziness, confusion, weakness, or pain. These symptoms can reduce a person's quality of life, or they could lead to additional medical issues or hospitalization.

The risks of falls and related injuries can increase dramatically when medication errors cause drowsiness, dizziness, or low blood pressure. Elderly residents are already at risk of falls, and medications that affect a person's balance or consciousness can make falls even more likely. Hip fractures, head injuries, and other trauma from falls can be life-threatening for elderly people.

Cognitive impairments may occur due to medication errors involving drugs that affect brain function. Excessive doses of sedatives, pain medications, or psychotropic drugs can cause confusion, memory problems, and altered consciousness. Some cognitive effects may resolve when medications are corrected, but prolonged exposure to the wrong medications can cause lasting impairments.

Organ damage may occur when toxic levels of medications accumulate or when drugs cause direct harm to organs like the kidneys, liver, or heart. Organ damage may be permanent, requiring ongoing medical treatment and reducing a person's life expectancy.

Negligence Leading to Medication Errors

In many cases, medication errors are the result of preventable failures in nursing home operations and oversight. Inadequate staffing can increase the risks of these errors. When one nurse is responsible for administering medications to dozens of residents within short periods of time, mistakes will be more likely.

Insufficient training may leave nursing assistants and licensed practical nurses unprepared to handle complex medication regimens. When facilities do not provide thorough training in medication administration or ongoing education about new drugs and protocols, staff members will not have the knowledge they need to identify potential problems and administer medications safely.

Poor medication storage and organization can create conditions where the wrong drugs may be administered. Facilities should maintain organized medication storage systems with clear labeling and separation of look-alike drugs.

With inadequate supervision, errors by staff members with less experience may go unnoticed. Licensed nurses should supervise medication administration by nursing assistants and provide oversight to ensure that the proper procedures are followed.

Failure to maintain accurate medication records can lead to confusion about what drugs residents should receive. When medication orders are not updated promptly, when allergy lists are incomplete, or when administration records are inaccurate, staff members will not have the information they need to administer medications safely.

Legal Help to Address Medication Errors in Nursing Homes

At Tremont Sheldon P.C., we can perform thorough investigations and obtain evidence to prove that medication errors were the result of nursing home negligence. We will take steps to obtain and review all relevant medical records, including medication orders, administration records, nursing notes, and pharmacy records. These documents can reveal what medications were prescribed, what was actually given, and whether proper monitoring occurred.

We will investigate facility practices and staffing levels related to medication administration. We can review inspection reports to look for previous medication-related violations, examine staffing records, and analyze training information to determine whether staff members received proper education.

Our attorneys will calculate the full damages a person has suffered, including the costs of medical treatment for complications caused by medication errors, the pain and suffering a person has endured, and the compensation that may be paid to address permanent injuries or reduced life expectancy.

Contact Our Bridgeport, CT Nursing Home Medication Error Attorneys

Medication errors in nursing homes can cause unnecessary suffering and serious health complications. When facilities have failed to follow the proper medication management procedures or engaged in other forms of negligence that harmed residents, the attorneys at Tremont Sheldon P.C. can help ensure that they will be held accountable. Contact our Bridgeport nursing home medication injury lawyers at 203-335-5145 to set up a free consultation.