Medication Errors
Attorney Tom Reuland has witnessed the adverse impacts that medication errors have on people that their families. Our law firm understands how medication errors in Illinois nursing homes have devastating consequences, can lead to extra medical interventions, and can even be fatal. We are here to help. If you or a loved one has suffered because of a medication error, Reuland Law can help you know your rights and make a meaningful recovery.
Powerful chemicals and human error don't mix.
Modern medicine has made huge advances in medicine, particularly with medications. But powerful drugs must be handled carefully.
Around 6,800 prescription medications are available in the United States by some estimates. This does not include over-the-counter vitamins, pills, and topical lotions and ointments that some people use to address what ails them. We live in a golden age for medications to help us live our best lives at any stage of our lives.
However, when people make mistakes and give someone the wrong medication, dire consequences can occur. Reuland Law handles medication error cases and holds people and nursing facilities accountable for their mistakes. These mistakes can include,
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Prescribing the wrong type of medication
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Giving someone medication at the wrong time
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Giving someone the wrong amount or dosage of the medication
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Mixing up who receives which medication
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Failing to monitor someone after they start taking new medication
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Not following the law when giving someone a controlled drug
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Failing to follow a facility's internal guidelines about medications
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Causing an allergic reaction with a medication
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Giving medication that is contraindicated by a resident's other medications, conditions, or nutritional needs.
These common medication errors are easily preventable. Reasonable training, qualified staff, and systems that protect patients will enable caretakers to be in a position to succeed. When nursing facilities and their staff handle powerful medications without reasonable care, serious injuries occur.
Reuland Law can determine whether you have a case.
We handle cases involving medication errors. Free and confidential information is a phone call away.
Medication errors often cause severe injuries and even death for patients. This is particularly sad given that most patients who are injured thought they were being smart by following a doctor's orders and taking the medications prescribed. Finding out what went wrong and why can be a daunting task for people and families who are trying to recover from the consequences of a medication error in a nursing home. Our office can help.
Reuland Law has developed a four-step analysis of most medication error claims. During an initial consultation, we will typically walk through these four steps to pinpoint which companies or people were responsible for giving someone bad medication.
First, we analyze how the medication was ordered in the first place. A qualified healthcare provider must prescribe the right type of medication, the right dosage, the right timing of when the resident should take that medication, and the right duration that the medication should last.
If the prescription is correct, we then look to the communication between the clinician and the pharmacy. One needs to determine if illegible writing, mistaken medication names, or typographical errors led to the wrong medication being dispensed. The prescription must be properly transcribed over to a qualified pharmacy. The pharmacy must then be able to properly read, interpret and understand the directive.
Next, we look to issues with dispensing the medication. Did someone check for adverse reactions or contraindications with the medication? Is the patient allergic to the medication? Was the medication dispensed in the correct form, or, for example, was a resident who needed an IV given a pill instead?
Finally, we analyze how the medication was administered. Nursing home staff must give medication only to the resident who needs it. They must give the correct dose of the correct medication at the correct time. When the medication isn't being distributed, proper storage is needed to preserve the medication's effectiveness. If by special laws control the medication (like psychotropic drugs for example), the nursing home staff must follow those additional rules in order to protect patients.
This four-part analysis is just a summary of what nursing home attorney Tom Reuland analyzes when investigating how a medication error occurred and who might be responsible. If anyone you know has been harmed by a medication error, our office can provide a free and confidential consultation to determine whether our legal system can help remedy the situation.