Why Hire The Atlanta Medication Error Lawyers at Julie A. Rice, Attorney at Law, & Affiliates?
Making the difficult decision to place a loved one in a nursing home is a heavy burden. In such a vulnerable setting, you expect the highest standards of care, especially when it comes to something as critical as medication management. However, the unfortunate reality is that medication errors in nursing homes happen far too often, leading to severe consequences for residents. At Julie A. Rice, Attorney at Law, & Affiliates, we are here to help you understand your legal rights and options and seek compensation for the harm endured due neglect in an assisted living facility in Atlanta.
What is a Medication Error?
A medication error, in legal terms, is a mistake made when a medication is being prescribed, prepared, or administered to a patient resulting in the patient being harmed in some way. In the context of a nursing home, medication errors typically fall into two categories: prescription errors and errors made during medication administration.
Prescription Errors
Prescription errors can encompass various mistakes:
- Misdiagnosis: The process may begin with an incorrect diagnosis, leading to the prescription of the wrong medication from the start.
- Prescribing the wrong medicine: Even with a correct diagnosis, a doctor can make a mistake by prescribing the wrong medication due to confusion, miscommunication, or simply failing to consider the patient’s specific needs.
- Disregarding the patient’s medical history: Failing to review a patient’s medical history can result in the prescription of medications that interact negatively with other drugs or conditions.
- Dispensing the Wrong Dosage: Even if the right medication is prescribed, errors can occur when dispensing the wrong dosage, putting residents at risk.
Errors Made During Medication Administration
Mistakes during medication administration are equally concerning. Common examples include:
- Errors when administering medication: Nursing staff may make errors when administering medication, such as providing the wrong dosage or administering it through the wrong route.
- Giving residents medications at the wrong time: Timeliness is crucial in medication administration, and deviations from the prescribed schedule can lead to errors.
- Errors when preparing a drug: Some medications require special preparation, and any deviation from these guidelines can result in errors.
- Intentional acts of abuse: In some rare cases, nursing home staff may intentionally misuse medications to restrain or harm residents.
Common Causes of Medication Errors in Nursing Homes
Understanding the root causes of medication errors is vital in preventing them. Some common systemic causes are as follows:
- Understaffing: Overworked and fatigued staff members are more prone to making errors.
- Inadequate training: Staff must receive comprehensive training in medication management.
- Negligent hiring: Failing to conduct thorough background checks can lead to unqualified personnel handling medications.
- Lack of communication between healthcare professionals: Effective communication among all members of the healthcare team is vital to ensure that everyone involved in a resident’s care is aware of and aligned with medication plans.
- Faulty information systems: Technological errors, such as glitches in electronic medical record systems, can result in medication errors.
A medication error can result in a wide range of adverse consequences, including death. Nursing homes have a responsibility to ensure medication safety at every step of the care process. If a medication error results in harm to a resident, the parties involved in prescribing, preparing, and administering the medication, as well as the nursing home itself, may be held liable for the victim’s damages.
How Medication Errors Can Be Prevented
With the help of our Atlanta medication error attorney, we can explore other instances when a doctor, nurse, or pharmacist makes a mistake that results in serious complications for you and your health. This can happen at any time. In every situation, doctors, nurses, and others must follow very specific steps to ensure medication is dispensed in the proper manner. When this does not happen according to medical best practices, failures occur.
Prevention methods may include:
- Double-checking medications being used, sometimes with more than one person verifying accuracy
- Ensure the drug’s side effects are understood by all parties
- Patient record management and patient history accuracy
- Ensure double checking of any prescription if it does not seem clear
- Follow best practices established within the setting for verifying medication use
If you find yourself suffering due to the mistakes another person made, fight for your right to compensation. Our legal team will learn more about your case. Then, we will pursue a claim for any of the losses you have incurred. We are relentless in our pursuit of compensation for our clients because we know the implications these accidents can create.
Evidence Needed for a Successful Medication Error Claim
Gathering the right evidence is crucial for a successful medication error lawsuit. This may include the victim’s medical records, test results, prescriptions, the samples of the medication that was administered, testimony of medical experts, and the testimony of the victim themselves.
In addition, you will generally need to establish the following elements:
- The medical professional or facility owed you or your loved one a duty of care
- The defendant breached this duty of care by committing a medication error
- The defendant’s breach was the direct cause of the medication error
- You or your loved one suffered injuries and losses as a result of the medication error
Various parties can be held liable for a medication error in a nursing home, including the prescribing doctor, nurses, the pharmacist, other staff members involved in the medication process, and even the pharmaceutical company when a defect in the drug, its marketing, or its packaging contributed to the error.
A successful nursing home medication error claim can result in compensation for various damages, including:
- Medical expenses
- Pain and suffering
- Any resulting disability or impairment
- Loss of quality of life
- Wrongful death
What Damages Can I Recover in a Medication Error?
The damages you are owed and may be able to recover from a medication error are directly related to the complications you suffered and associated costs.
When a medication error occurs, the victim may face minor inconveniences in some situations, but in others, the losses can be profound and may impact you in numerous ways – and for years to come. Our medication error attorney in Atlanta knows how to help in these complicated legal matters. If you are facing any of the following potential complications from medication errors, do not wait to contact us for help.
- Death. Some people may experience immediate or early death due to the complications they have from medication errors
- Long-term injuries, including to airways, digestive systems, and other organs, due to the toxication involved
- Complications from untreated symptoms, such as a failure to provide heart medications, could lead to a heart attack
- Changes to cognitive function or brain health due to exposure to these toxins
- Ongoing establishment of stress, depression, and anxiety
- Allergies can lead to anaphylactic shock, which can be life-threatening
- Skin damage through the development of a rash or hives
- Disfigurement to a person’s body
If you suffered any of these or other complications resulting from a medication error, do not wait to get legal support for what you are facing. In many situations, our Atlanta medication error lawyers can demonstrate, through our understanding of medical care, where the errors occurred. This allows us to learn who is responsible and ultimately to hold them responsible for what they did to you.
Why You Need an Atlanta an Atlanta Medication Error Lawyer
A medication error attorney guides you in achieving the best possible outcome in several ways:
- We understand the laws and how they apply to your situation
- Our industry knowledge enables us to help our clients determine if an error occurred and where in the process it happened
- We hold the responsible parties accountable by providing what they did, why it happened, and why it violated your rights – and then we ensure all parties are identified
- An attorney helps you estimate the value of the losses you have, which can be complicated in many situations
- You gain peace of mind while we work to protect your rights
You need a medication error attorney to protect your rights. In every situation, this becomes critical to navigating maximum compensation claims.
How Our Atlanta Medication Error Lawyers Can Help
Our experienced Atlanta medication error lawyers can assist you in any nursing home abuse claim by:
- Conducting a thorough investigation into the medication error
- Proving fault and liability for the error
- Evaluating the extent of your damages, including physical, emotional, and financial
- Gathering the necessary evidence to support your lawsuit
- Filing a medication error claim on your behalf
- Negotiating for a fair settlement with the responsible parties
- Filing a nursing home abuse lawsuit if a settlement cannot be reached
Our Atlanta medication error lawyers can also help you seek medical care to address the adverse consequences of medication error.
What Is the Time Limit to File a Medication Error in Atlanta
Filing a claim for compensation for losses related to medication errors is limited to just two years. This is the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit in the state. If you do not act within that time frame, you may not be able to obtain compensation for the losses, even if you can show that others are responsible. With the help of our Atlanta medication error attorney, you can be confident that the care and support you need is available to you.
- We handle the insurance company questions so that you do not feel as though this is your responsibility. It also helps eliminate the risk that they will try to get you to admit fault.
- Our team negotiates with evidence. Insurance companies may push back about providing financial compensation, but we use evidence in your case to prove that you are owed monetary damages.
- Expect us to pursue comprehensive legal support without risk to you. You do not have to worry about your relationship with a doctor or other medical provider. We handle these claims directly with the insurance company, and that can help to protect your relationship with your medical provider.
- In a nursing home settling, it is very common for insurance companies to work to prove that the nursing home or employees are not responsible. We work hard to ensure the evidence speaks for itself.
- We will go to trial if they do not settle your case in a fair manner – and we mean ensuring that you get the compensation you need to move on with your future.
If you have been offered a settlement that is too low to pay for your losses or you have been denied a claim together, you need our team by your side. Let our medication error attorney in Atlanta guide you throughout this legal process. You are not alone in dealing with these complications.
We Can Answer All of Your Questions in a Free Consultation
Set up a free consultation with our Atlanta medication error attorney now. When you do, our team will meet with you to discuss your case and all of its intricacies. We will then take that information and offer you some suggestions, including whether you should settle the claim with the insurance company if you already have one or provide you with hands-on support in developing that claim. You will know if you have a case, what your case may be worth, and your rights to compensation.
Trust in our experience and dedication to our clients. A free consultation is an excellent way to get to know us and determine whether you feel comfortable working with our team.
Call Julie A. Rice, Attorney at Law, & Affiliates for a Free Consultation with an Atlanta Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Today
If you or a loved one has suffered due to a medication error in a nursing home in Atlanta, do not hesitate to seek legal help from our personal injury lawyers in Atlanta. Contact Julie A. Rice, Attorney at Law, & Affiliates at 770-865-8654 or reach us online for a free case review. We are committed to fighting for justice and holding those responsible for medication errors in nursing homes in Atlanta accountable.