Florida Nursing Home Lawyer Blog
An elderly resident at a Florida nursing home received double his daily medication for a full year before anyone discovered the mistake. This error is egregious in itself, but the greater problem is it’s not an isolated incident throughout the state – and it puts vulnerable patients at grave risk of serious harm.
A recent report by the Daytona News-Journal indicated the same nursing home that wrongly doubled the patient’s prescription had been cited twice before for previous medication errors – including for a time accidentally switching two patient’s pills. In the last three years, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services revealed nearly 45 percent of nursing homes in Florida have been cited for deficiencies that were either directly or indirectly related to medication mistakes.
Brian Lee, director of consumer watchdog group Families for Better Care, said the problem is far too common, and both patients and families have a right to accountability in these matters.