Florida Nursing Home Lawyer Blog
A nurse in Alabama recently pleaded guilty to elder abuse after she reportedly failed to inform her employer that she had committed a medication error by giving a nursing home patient the wrong drug.
The 53-year-old licensed practical nurse (LPN) pleaded guilty to reckless abuse of a protected person. Although it was not an intentional act, the fact that the nurse failed to report her action put the patient at serious risk. In fact, the patient almost died.
This kind of medication error in nursing homes is a serious and unfortunately common problem. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) defines “medication error” as any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medicine is in control of the health care professional, patient or consumer. Continue reading →