Houston Nursing Home Medication Errors Lawyer
Have you or a family member suffered an injury as a result of a medication error at a nursing home in Houston, TX? You may be entitled to compensation. The Houston nursing home medication errors lawyers at Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers can help you fight to secure a full financial award.
We understand that when you or a loved one move into a nursing home facility, you are trusting that the staff will take great care not to cause harm. Unfortunately, sometimes that trust is abused and medication is dispensed recklessly.
If medication is not dispensed with the utmost care and an eye to detail, the consequences can be disastrous. No one should suffer injury or death due to another’s negligence. You entrusted your loved one to the staff at the nursing home, and they had a duty to act with care and do no harm.
Let us help you hold them accountable, call us at (713) 500-5000. To learn more, please Contact our Houston personal injury law office for a free consultation today.
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How Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help After a Medication Error Incident in Houston, TX
Hiring our Houston personal injury lawyers to fight for justice means hiring a legal team that has decades of experience we can bring to bear on your behalf. We know how to build a strong case that can withstand any onslaught from opposing parties, including insurance companies.
Why try to go through the legal labyrinth on your own when you can use our substantial experience to your advantage?
To have a successful claim in a case involving nursing home medication errors, you will have to show that the nursing home or its staff were negligent in caring for your loved one and therefore did not provide the required standard of care.
Hiring a personal injury attorney can often make all the difference in whether you receive the justice and full compensation to which you are entitled. This is too important to risk without bringing on professionals who know how to get the job done for you.
The nursing home medication error attorneys in our Houston law firm will:
- Represent you in court and in all negotiations and dealings with opposing parties and insurance companies.
- Provide you with various options available to you and advise you regarding your legal rights.
- Do the heavy lifting in hunting down evidence, including witness statements, medical documents, and police files.
- Get perspectives, advice, and supporting testimony from experts in their fields.
Our Houston nursing home injury lawyers will go to the mat for you in pursuing full compensation. Our team never rests until we get you the justice and financial award you rightly deserve. We know the law inside and out and we do our homework in examining your case from all possible angles to put together just the right legal strategy that will win for you.
Contact our Houston law firm so we can learn more about your situation and help you understand the legal rights and options available to you. As always your initial case evaluation is 100 percent free.
Nursing Home Medication Errors in the United States
Nursing home patients are at the mercy of the staff and depend on them to administer their duties professionally and carefully. Reckless errors that demonstrate a lack of meticulous care can be devastating to the patient, as well as to the patient’s loved ones.
Unfortunately, nursing homes tend to be understaffed, and existing staff may not always have the proper training or certification.
As a result, medical negligence and drug errors in nursing homes in the United States occur far too often. Studies show that medication errors have affected up to 37% of nursing home residents.
Types of Medication Errors
The specifics of the errors vary from case to case, but they all tend to fall into one of four categories:
- Knowledge-based: When staff dispensing medication are not properly aware or informed regarding a patient’s medical history or allergies.
- Rule-based: When improperly trained staff or confusing rules result in improper application of a rule. For example, giving an injection in the arm when it needs to be given in the thigh.
- Action-based: When staff jot down the wrong medication in notes, inadvertently pick up the wrong bottle, or misread a prescription.
- Memory-based: When staff forget to administer medication or fail to note it on the chart so another staff member does not administer it twice.
- Diagnosis-based: Sometimes medication is administered improperly as a result of a failure to diagnose a resident’s condition.
All of these errors, while unfortunate and unintentional, are still considered negligence and you should be compensated.
Negligence in Dispensing Nursing Home Medication
The following are instances of negligence leading to errors in dispensing medication to nursing home patients:
- A medication overdose or underdose is the most common error in nursing homes today.
- Medication dosage can be misread by new employees or can be overlooked when an employee is not paying proper attention.
- Cutting pills that need to stay intact can change the effect they have on the patient and can potentially be fatal.
- When nursing homes are understaffed, it can be more difficult for employees to ensure that every resident receives medication at the correct time. This is extremely dangerous for patients who take medication that is time-released because it can interact with other medications.
- Improper drug preparation, such as not shaking insulin, can cause air bubbles in the syringe, potentially leading to stroke, heart attack, or respiratory failure.
- When certain medications are not mixed, such as liquid antibiotics, the medication is not activated, making it useless for the patient.
- Expired medication may not have the effect it should on the patient. Inadequate fluids with medication may cause dehydration. Some medications also require a certain amount of fluids be taken with the medicine for multiple reasons.
- Food or antacids may be required, and if not given, the patient can become ill.
In each of these instances, negligence on the part of the nursing home staff was the cause of the error. When these mistakes occur, the consequences can be deadly, which is why it is so important that you hold them accountable.
In addition to bringing you justice, a medical malpractice or personal injury lawsuit can often prompt the nursing home to make much-needed changes to keep this from happening to other patients. Some processes that could use an overhaul could include issues like the following:
- Understaffed nursing homes may hire a nurse’s aid before they have completed CNA certification.
- It is illegal for nurse’s aides to handle patients’ medications, but understaffed nursing homes may make an exception when they are in need of immediate help.
- Improper inventory tracking, leading to expired medications that are no longer potent enough to address the patient’s medication need. For example, antibiotics that are past their expiration may not cure infection and could result in antibiotic resistance.
Our lawyers are trained to investigate whether or not any of these issues are applicable to your case. We know what to look for and what elements and evidence will strengthen your case.
What Compensation Can I Expect After a Nursing Home Medication Error in Houston, TX?
It is difficult to say exactly how much compensation you may be awarded in a personal injury case. A great deal is dependent on the facts and specifics of your situation. You can expect, however, that any compensation awarded will be split into economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic damages are to make up for tangible costs associated with the injury caused by the medication error. For example:
- Hospital stays
- Prescription medication
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Physical therapy
Non-economic damages are to make up for losses that are personal and harder to assess in terms of dollar figures. These could include:
- Inconvenience
- Pain and suffering
- Humiliation
- Loss of any senses
Nursing home patients who have been victims of medication errors caused by someone’s negligence should not have to bear the costs of any of their suffering, whether physical or emotional. If you or a loved one have suffered, don’t hesitate to contact our law firm for assistance today.
Statute of Limitations in Houston Nursing Home Medication Errors Cases
The statute of limitations refers to the amount of time prescribed by law within which you have to file your claim. In Texas, the statute of limitations for most personal injury lawsuits is two years. You have no time to waste if you want to leave yourself enough time to build a strong case.
You should also be aware that Texas has adopted modified comparative negligence rules that bar financial recovery in the event the patient was more than 50% responsible for the blame.
Contact Our Houston Nursing Home Medication Errors Lawyers
Have someone you love suffered because their Houston, TX nursing home made a medication error? Nursing home patients are particularly vulnerable and deserve the utmost protection. Our Houston nursing home medication error lawyers are ready to fight for you. We are relentless in our pursuit of justice and financial recovery, but we always work with integrity. You can place your trust in our capable hands, knowing we are on the case and will work hard to win big for you.
Give our personal injury lawyers a call or contact us online to set up a free consultation. As with all our cases, we operate on a contingency fee basis, meaning you do not pay until we secure a financial award for you.
