The Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) who delivered the fatal dose of medication at the North Adams Home in Mendon, Illinois was fired as a result of the medication error, but the circumstances that surround the dosage show a nursing home administration content to allow unacceptable medication errors on a regular basis.
6 medications including Losarten (hypertension), Lopressor (high blood pressure), Nifedipine (high blood pressure), Imdur (vasodilator), Glucosamine, and aspirin were given to a North Adams Home nursing home resident who had already received his prescribed medications. The combination proved too much, and he died at a nearby Mendon, Illinois hospital.
Nurses are trained to perform five checks before administering any medication to a resident:
1. Is this the right patient?2. Is this the right medication?3. Is this the right dosage?4. Is this the right means (i.e., pill, liquid, etc.)?5. Is this the right time?
Clearly, the North Adams Home LPN who administered these medications failed to properly administer these checks, resulting in the wrongful death of the resident.
In addition, this wasn’t the first time the LPN had been guilty of medication errors. This fatal incident occurred in December of 2011. On November 12, the same LPN gave the wrong medications to the very same resident. On November 13th, the LPN failed to give a prescribed medication to another resident. On December 17th and 18th (year unknown) the LPN gave the wrong medications to another resident. Errors were also noted multiple times from 2004 to 2008, and also in 2010.
The North Adams Home administration failed to address any of these prior errors by removing the LPN from that duty, terminating his/her employment, or making changes to the way that medications are administered.
If you have a loved one who has been injured due to a medication error in an Illinois nursing home, contact my law offices for a free and confidential evaluation of your case. At the law offices of Barry Doyle, you never pay a fee unless we take, and win, your case.
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