Santa Barbara Medication Errors Lawyer

Whether you have an elderly loved one in a nursing home, assisted living facility, or hospital facility, it is important to be aware of the frequency and seriousness of medication errors. Medication mistakes happen much more often than you might think, and they are a common source of severe harm and injury among older adults. If you have any concerns about an elderly loved one’s well-being and believe a medication error could have caused harm, you should get in touch with a Santa Barbara medication errors lawyer at the Southern California Nursing Home Law Group as soon as possible.

According to the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy, medication mistakes are the most commonly cited type of medical error more broadly, and they result in about 1.5 million or more injuries every year. But what are medication errors, exactly?

The National Coordinating Council for Medication Error and Prevention defines a medication error as “any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm, while the medication is in the control of the health care professional, patient, or consumer.” Medication errors commonly involve mistakes with prescribing, drug packaging, dispensing, distribution, administering, and monitoring.

Who is responsible for medication errors in Santa Barbara County nursing homes? The answer to that question will depend on the type of medication mistake and the circumstances surrounding it, but potentially liable parties include:

• Nursing home or assisted-living facility where the error occurred;
• Physician, nurse practitioner, or physician’s assistant who prescribed the medication;
• Pharmacist or pharmacy technician involved in filling and dispensing the medication; and
• Nurse or other staff member who administered the medication.

It is important to know that, even when a nurse or other staff member at a nursing home or assisted-living facility makes a mistake in administering a drug, the facility itself may be liable.

While any type of medication error can affect a resident in a nursing home, or even an assisted-living facility, some types of medication mistakes are more common than others. According to a study in the journal Quality & Safety in Health Care, the following are among the most commonly cited types of medication errors reported in nursing homes, most of which were linked to administration mistakes:

• Overdose;
• Underdose;
• Wrong patient being given the medication;
• Wrong medication administered to a patient; and
• Wrong dosage administered.

If you have an elderly loved one in a nursing home or assisted-living facility and you have any concerns about their quality of care or the possibility of a medication error that resulted in harm, our firm can help. One of the experienced Santa Barbara medication error lawyers at our firm can speak with you today and help you to understand options for getting your loved one the compensation they need and holding the facility accountable. Contact the Southern California Nursing Home Law Group for more information.