A medication error happens when a drug is improperly administered, or a doctor’s or manufacturer’s instructions are not followed. Medication errors in nursing homes happen far too often.

Key Takeaways:

• Medication errors in nursing homes can seriously harm or cause the death of residents.
• A medication error can be a wide range of negligent or deliberate actions. Many errors come from miscommunication, failure to follow instructions, or simple carelessness.
• Studies have found that most medication errors in nursing homes are preventable.
• A person who suffers a preventable drug error has legal rights. A nursing home abuse lawyer can help you explore options.

At least 1.6 million Americans reside in nursing homes, according to statistics published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). That same data suggests that nearly 50% of residents fall at least once per year in those long-term residential care facilities.

Many of those nursing home residents suffer serious injuries when they fall. Broken hips and blunt force head trauma, resulting in traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), are some of the most commonly reported concerns that stem from these incidents. These injuries are painful, often requiring surgical intervention and extensive rehabilitation. They can also leave behind long-term impacts and even prematurely claim residents’ lives.

We finally break down and put our loved ones in an Illinois nursing home; we often do so because we expect them to receive the around-the-clock support and skilled care we can’t provide them. Like any other business, a Marion nursing home may not live up to expectations. A single staff member may be negligent or abusive of your nursing home resident loved one, causing harm they shouldn’t have had to endure.

Learning that your loved one has been subjected to mistreatment they shouldn’t have can be hard to come to terms with. You likely want to ensure that your relative nor anyone else has to face the same mistreatment again. One way to ensure that history doesn’t repeat itself is to report what happened to the appropriate authorities to do something about it. Below, we’ll answer the question, “Where do I file a complaint against a nursing home in Illinois?”

When you can no longer take care of your elderly loved one in your home, or they can no longer take care of themselves in their own home, you might make the decision for them to live in a residential care home. A residential care home is slightly different than a nursing home or a long-term care facility.

Entrusting yourself or your loved one to the care of a nursing home facility should not come with the fear of mistreatment or assault, but studies have shown that approximately one in 10 older adults living in a community environment is a victim of abuse. Elder abuse is a serious and harmful threat to individuals who reside in nursing homes, affecting both the residents themselves and their network of friends and family.

When you decide to trust a nursing home with the care of your elderly family member, you expect them to provide them with at least the standard of care that you would give them. Sometimes, they don’t give them the same quality of life that you want them to. While some of their shortcomings aren’t considered abuse and neglect, others are.

One of the biggest complaints that nursing home residents have is that staff has a slow response time. This can be from understaffing and overworking of the staff, which can be from genuine lack of time, but it can also be as a result of nursing home abuse. Let’s take a look at what slow response times can mean for patients and what you can do for your loved ones in long-term care facilities.

When it comes time to move a loved one into a nursing home or independent living facility, you expect that facility to provide them with quality care around the clock. When people think about injuries and instances of failing staff, abuse often comes to mind first; however, neglect is often a bigger problem in nursing homes.

It’s important to understand how neglect is a unique issue many nursing home residents face, what the signs of neglect are, and how negligent facilities can be held accountable for their actions or inactions. Let’s start by going over how neglect is legally defined in a skilled nursing facility in Marion.

Nursing home residents are considered to be a vulnerable population. This is because they generally need to rely on nursing home staff to provide them with food, medicine, and daily necessities. When this doesn’t happen, for whatever reason, legal action may be available on the grounds of abuse or neglect.

If you believe your loved one has wrongfully suffered, you’ll likely want to understand the circumstances that led to their harm. In some instances, substance abuse may be a factor—whether staff members abuse drugs while working with residents or a resident’s substance abuse disorder was managed improperly. Let’s take a look at how substance abuse affects nursing home patients and what can be done to limit drug and alcohol abuse in long-term care facilities.

There are many reasons as to why elder abuse occurs. In some cases, the incident is a spontaneous act perpetrated by someone who is taking advantage of a senior’s situation. In other cases, premeditation is involved. Most elder abuse cases involve an element of power and control exercised by the abuser. In order to protect your loved one from elder abuse, it’s important to understand why it happens in long-term care facilities and in the home.

No matter how pristine and safe a nursing home may seem, it’s not always easy to detect what goes on when visitors aren’t present. A significant number of facilities are found in violation of state and federal laws every year. Some of the violations are in regard to abuse and neglect. To protect your loved one, it’s important to know how you can find information on a nursing home’s reputation and past.

Whether you’re searching to find the perfect long-term care facility for your loved one or making sure their current facility is providing them with the care they need and deserve, there are a variety of resources you can use to find out if your loved one’s nursing home has a history of neglect.

There are state, federal, and independent resources you can access to find out about instances of neglect in a nursing home. You can learn about a nursing home’s rating, compare facilities to each other, and read about the violations different homes near you have been charged with.