News
Medication Errors
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Nursing Home Patients Plagued by Medication Errors
Sep 15, 2008Each month 10% of nursing home patients are injured by medication errors according to a study by the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine. According to the author of the study, nursing homes are at least 10 years behind hospitals in reducing medication errors. The most common and the most serious problems come from the blood thinner warfarin (Coumadin) and anti-psychotic medications. Improperly medicated patients suffer injuries ranging from confusion to serious bleeding to death.
According to Dr. Jerry Gurwitz, M.D., the lead author of the study, "This seems to be a major safety issue for some of our most vulnerable patients."
We could not agree more with Dr. Gurwitz's comment. In our experience, medication errors are often fatal. We have represented patients in Virginia who have died from overdoses of Coumadin and Methotrexate. These deaths were needless and preventable.
It is the responsibility of the doctor to prescribe medications appropriately and for the nurses to administer the medications as prescribed. Yet when a doctor prescribes a dangerous medicine like Coumadin, the doctor must monitor the patient and order critical laboratory tests to ensure that the patient is receiving a proper dose. The nurses must ensure that the doctors orders are properly carried out. If either the nurses or the doctors neglect their responsibilities the patient is at risk for serious injuries or death.
The statistic of 10% of nursing home patients per month suffering from medication errors is astonishing. At that rate most long term nursing home patients will suffer injuries from a medication error.
There are host of technologies and steps nursing homes can take to prevent medication errors. The most important and simplest step is to provide sufficient nurses to care for patients. Under-staffing leads to overworked nurses who are more likely to make mistakes. Unfortunately most nursing homes are for-profit businesses and the easiest way to boost profits is to cut staffing, i.e. putting profits over patients.
Our philosophy is that holding nursing homes accountable for injuring patients makes it expensive for nursing homes to provide bad care. In other words, while it may cost money to hire sufficient nurses to care for patients, ultimate it is cheaper for the nursing home to provide good care and than to be sued for malpractice.
Because medication errors are so common in nursing homes, we have devoted a portion of our website to nursing home medication errors. Click here to learn more.
If you or a loved one is a victim of a medication error, please call us at (804) 288-1661 or click here to contact us.
Joshua Silverman
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Medication Error Practice Section
Sep 10, 2008We have added a new practice area to our website devoted to medication errors. At Williamson & Lavecchia, we have represented numerous victims of medication errors and information about medication errors has been available on our website. Due to the severity and frequency of medication errors, we have decided to set up a separate practice area on this website limited to medication errors.
Medication errors are almost always preventable. Most medication errors come from carelessness and negligence. The following are a few examples of medication errors:- Nurses administering a medication to the wrong patient;
- Doctors writing illegible prescriptions;
- Doctors writing prescriptions that the patient is allergic to;
- Pharmacists misfilling prescriptions (wrong medicine in the bottle or mislabeling the prescription);
- Drug manufacturers using similar and confusing names for different drugs;
- Doctors failing to monitor the effects of prescriptions.
There are numerous other examples of medication errors. In some cases medication errors cause minimal harm, but in other cases they are tragic. For example, we have represented the families of patients who have died from medication overdoses like Coumadin, a blood thinner.
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If you or a loved one has been a victim of medication errors, please click here to learn more about medication errors or contact us to discuss your legal rights.
Regards,
Joshua Silverman -
Pressure Ulcer Hospitalizations Skyrocket
Dec 10, 2008A new government study has found that there has been a shocking 80% increase in hospitalizations due to pressure ulcers. The study compared data from 1993 to 2006. In 2006, 45,000 patients were hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of pressure ulcers (also called bed sores, pressure sores, or decubitus ulcers). Over 450,000 patients were hospitalized with a secondary diagnosis of pressure ulcers.
Our website contains an significant information about the causes and treatments for pressure ulcers and photographs of pressure ulcers. The most important point is that pressure ulcers are preventable in most cases. As the name suggests, pressure ulcers are caused by pressure. Likewise pressure ulcers are preventable by reducing pressure. The most important nursing treatment to prevent pressure ulcers is to turn and reposition patients at least every 2 hours. When a patient is left in the same position blood flow is decreased to the skin and tissues. The decreased blood flow causes the skin and tissues to become oxygen starved. Without oxygen the skin and tissue will become injured and eventually die if pressure is not relieved.
Pressure ulcers are not only painful, they can be deadly. Pressure ulcers are prone to infection. With "superbugs" like MRSA and Vancomycin-resistant enterococci bacteria (VRE), local infections can spread through the bloodstream causing sepsis and bacteremia. These serious conditions are very often fatal.
At Williamson & Lavecchia, L.C. we represent patients who have suffered from pressure ulcers at hospitals, nursing homes, and rehabilitation facilities throughout Virginia. Please feel free to contact us at (804) 288-1661 or click here to email us for a free consultation.
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Virginia Ranks in Bottom 10 for Nursing Home Staffing
Jan 29, 2009U.S. News and World Report just published its rankings of the worst states in the nation for nursing home staffing. Virginia ranked No. 8 from the bottom. The conclusion was based on data from Medicare. Medicare recently ranked nursing homes on a scale from 1-5 stars. Of Virginia's 263 nursing homes, more than one third of the nursing homes earned only 1 star.
The implications of Virginia's poor rankings are serious. Over 1/3 of nursing homes in Virginia are not providing adequate staff to care for their patients. With insufficient staff, patients are at risk for not being turned, fed, bathed or properly medicated. Those patients are prone to develop pressure ulcers, malnutrition, infections, falls, and other injuries.
The reasons why nursing homes in Virginia are understaffed is debatable. In my opinion, the nursing home industry is placing profits over caring for patients. As the most expensive part of operating a nursing home is staffing, the surest way to increase profits is to under-staff the facility. Others argue there is a shortage of available nurses and nurses aides willing to work in nursing homes, but that also can be tied to profits. If nursing homes would provide fair compensation more nurses would be willing to care for patients in nursing homes.
The solution is two fold: (1) We should all contact our elected officials and let them know that nursing homes should be required to have minimal staffing levels sufficient to provide quality care. (2) We need to reverse the incentives to nursing homes by making it expensive to provide poor care. This is accomplished by holding nursing homes accountable in a court of law for neglecting and abusing their patients. Ultimately, if the cost of defending poor care exceeds the cost of providing good care, nursing homes will hire more nurses and improve the quality of care provided to their patients.
If you believe a loved one is a victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, please feel free to contact us by email or call us at (804) 288-1661 to discuss your legal rights. - 4 - 10 -
Nursing Home Employee Sentenced for Sexually Assaulting an 85 Year Old Patient
Jan 29, 2009An 85 year old nursing home patient certainly expected to be secure in her nursing home bedroom. Undoubtedly her family never expected her to become a victim of one of the most violent and cruel crimes --- sexual assault --- while a patient at a nursing home. Yet, this happens in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. There have been prosecutions in Henrico County for raping nursing home patients. Nursing homes in Virginia are required to conduct criminal background checks of its employees.
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According to the Virginia Supreme Court, a nursing home that fails to provide reasonable security for its patients may be held accountable in a court of law. On our website, you can learn more about a nursing home's legal responsibility for protecting its patients. If you or a loved one has been a victim of abuse, neglect, or malpractice at a nursing home or assisted living facility you are invited to contact us to discuss your legal rights. We represent victims of nursing home abuse and neglect throughout Virginia.
Please email us or call us at 804-288-1661.
Sincerely yours,
Josh Silverman -
Nursing Home Rating System
Jan 29, 2009Starting in December 2008, the Nursing Home Compare website operated by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will give nursing homes a star rating, between 1-5 stars.
The Nursing Home Compare website already provides consumers with information about past complaint investigations, surveys, and penalties issued against individual nursing homes. However, the current system can be confusing for patients and their families. The star rating system should provide a simpler means to assess the quality of care provided in a nursing home.
In addition to assisting nursing home patients and their families in choosing a nursing home, we hope the star rating system will lead nursing homes to improve the quality of care provided to patients. Nursing homes know that consumers have choices and no one wants to put a family member in a one star nursing home.
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Nursing Home Patients Signing Away Their Right to Sue for Abuse and Neglect
Jan 29, 2009Patients entering nursing homes typically must sign "admission agreements." Deep inside these multiple page contracts are often hidden provisions that deny nursing home patients the right to sue for damages due to abuse and neglect. Instead they are "agreeing" to waive their right to sue and to resolve their claim via arbitration. In an arbitration, there is no jury and the case is decided by 1-3 persons who may be biased in favor of the nursing home industry.
The attached article from Fox News describes both perspectives on compelling nursing home patients to give up their Constitutional right to sue. Currently pending before Congress is a bill to make these mandatory arbitration agreements unenforceable. At Williamson & Lavecchia, L.C. we support this legislation and believe deeply in every person's Constitutional right to have their claims vindicated in a court of law.
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GAO Report Finds Nursing Home Inspectors Miss Serious Violations
Jan 29, 2009Despite strict regulations of nursing homes, residents continue to suffer serious injuries and die due to abuse and neglect. Congress is investigating the effectiveness of the nursing home regulations. A report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found that inspectors miss 15% of the most serious violations. These are often life threatening violations like failing to provide adequate nutrition and hydration (food and water) to residents.
In addition to hunger and thirst that naturally comes from inadequate nutrition and hydration, patients are highly prone to deadly infections, pressure sores, falls, and other serious injuries. There are over 16,000 nursing homes caring for 1.5 million Americans. One-fifth of the nursing homes were cited for serious violations. When you add in the number of violations that were missed, it becomes clear that we have a crisis in nursing home care.
Senators Charles Grassley and Herbert Kohl have introduced legislation to raise the fines against nursing homes. Currently, nursing homes can not be fined more than $10,000 regardless of the seriousness of the injury to the patient. The proposed legislation will raise the maximum fine to $25,000 for serious violations and $100,000 for the death of a patient. Equally important, the legislation will increase the transparency of owners of the nursing home. Shockingly, inspectors struggle to identify the owners of a nursing home whose identities are often hidden behind several shell corporations. This legislation is expected to be voted upon in June 2008. Please return to our website for further updates.
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New York Times Exposes Nursing Homes Placing Profit of Patient Care
Jan 29, 2009On October 23, 2007, the New York Times published the results their in depth investigation into private equity groups that are purchasing nursing home chains. Many argue they have returned the industry to profitability but at the expense of patient care. These groups have set up elaborate corporate structures that enable the investors to receive a handsome return on their investments but leaving the nursing home underfunded and with limited resources to compensate victims of abuse and neglect. The systems is relatively simple. The nursing home is set up as one corporation with minimal insurance coverage. The nursing home pays large fees to landlords, management companies, and other corporations. These corporations are in the black while the nursing home appears insolvent and judgment proof. Yet, when you dig into the ownership of the landlords and management companies, you often find that they share the same investors. The ultimate result is that the victims of abuse and neglect struggle to be compensated for their injuries. There are strategies to hold all of these companies responsible. Lawyers call it "piercing the corporate veil." Please call us if you believe a loved one has been abused or neglected in a nursing home. - 9 - 10
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Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Underreported
Jan 29, 2009New studies have shown that nursing home abuse and neglect is grossly under-reported. In an Israeli study only 6% of nursing home patients said they would report being abused or neglected. However, when the researchers studied hospital records of patients admitted from nursing homes, they found 21% exhibited signs of abuse including burns, dehydration, malnutrition, unexplained bruises, and poor hygiene. In the United States, there are 2500 reported cases of nursing home residents being physically abused annually. That is certainly only a fraction of the number of unreported cases. New efforts are being made to identify victims of nursing home abuse and neglect. Hospital employees are being asked to look for signs of abuse and neglect much the way pediatricians screen for child abuse. You can also be on the lookout for signs that a loved one is being abused or neglected by being observant and listening. Warning signs include pressure sores, bruises, weight loss, poor hygiene, anger, and behavioral problems. If you believe a loved one has been abused or neglected at a nursing home take action. You are invited to contact us for a free evaluation of your legal rights. - 10 - 10
Pressure Sores
Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
