Medication Errors Lawyer in Montgomery

Residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities commonly have such health conditions as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, Parkinson’s, dementia, Alzheimer’s, arthritis, osteoporosis, and more. These individuals are often on many medications to control these conditions and depend on staff to administer them. 

Where carelessness occurs by staff, medication errors can occur, including:

• Forgetting a medication
• Administering the wrong dosage
• Administering a wrong medication
• Overmedication

These errors may be unintentional yet have serious effects on the individual’s health. This could be considered unintentional abuse but is still illegal. 

In other cases, however, residents in these facilities may be purposely overdosed in what is known as “chemical restraint” to keep them docile and under control. This is done by giving the resident higher amounts of prescribed drugs or giving them unprescribed drugs, such as sedatives, anti-depressants, or anti-psychotic drugs designed to subdue them and make them more manageable. This is often done to residents with dementia. These individuals often have “behavioral problems,” such as wandering, resisting care, or “crying,” according to a report made by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The report states that more than 80 percent of “atypical antipsychotic drug claims” were for elderly nursing home residents who had not been diagnosed with a condition for which these drugs were FDA-approved. 

Unfortunately, these drugs become a substitute for proper care, social activities, and other programs that can foster better mental and emotional health for these residents. They lead to a serious reduction in quality of life, decreased consciousness, and, in the worst cases, can lead to eventual decline and death. According to Human Rights Watch, antipsychotic drug abuse in nursing homes is rampant and doubles the risk for death in those with dementia.