A resident at the Lexington of Schaumburg nursing home in Schaumburg, Illinois was nearly the victim of a fatal nursing home medication error when the nursing home staff failed to properly transcribe a prescription order from the resident’s physician.
The resident is a 74-year-old man with a long history of heart problems including chronic atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (known as COPD). A few years earlier, he had a stroke.
The man was admitted to the nursing home directly from the hospital. His physician ordered that an anticoagulant be administered twice a day. Anticoagulants are critical medications for people with weak hearts.
For the two weeks that the resident was in the facility, there was no anticoagulant administered. This resulted in the resident developing deep vein thrombosis and a pulmonary embolism. These conditions can easily lead to potentially fatal blood clots.
The resident received emergency medical treatment at a hospital when the deep vein thrombosis was detected, and was eventually treated without negative outcomes to his long term health.
Medication errors are too common in understaffed nursing home environments. Nursing homes with high turnover rates for staff and residents are more likely to have high rates of medication errors because the staff is not familiar with the residents.
If you have a loved one who has been the victim of a medication error in an Illinois nursing home, contact our Chicago nursing home lawyers for a free and confidential evaluation of your case.
At my law offices, we have the experience and the expertise to carefully manage all aspects of your medication error lawsuit. At the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle we offer a free and completely confidential evaluation of your case, and we never charge a fee unless we earn a recovery for you.
Other blog posts of interest:
Failure to give anti-seizure medication at Lexington of Orland Park
Overdose from medication error at Grosse Pointe Manor