As Washington D.C. area nursing home negligence and abuse attorneys, we have been following the recent news of the an 82-year old patient who experienced a wrongful death after receiving another patient’s medication while staying at the Fair Oaks Lodge, a nursing facility in Minnesota.
According to ABC News, an employee at the home negligently gave the patient, who suffered from Alzheimer’s, another resident’s medicine on June 1, 2009. The medication mistake caused the patient’s blood pressure to seriously drop, and after being rushed to the hospital, the woman died six days later while in intensive care.
The article claims that this same medical mistake has happened at the facility twice before, with two different patients, from May 27 to June 23, 2009. The two residents reportedly survived, but the nursing home was held responsible by the state for nursing home neglect, and their procedures were audited.
As a result of the nursing home negligence, the employee who made the medical mistake was reportedly reprimanded and re-trained, but no longer works at the nursing home.
According to Joel Beiswenger, the CEO of the nursing home, the current residents and their families need not worry about the health and safety of the residents. He verified in the article that the home’s systems are working as they should, and that the staff is fully trained.
The family of the resident who received the medication mistake is reportedly still working on a settlement with Fair Oaks Lodges. The Minnesota Department of Health claims that the nursing home is in compliance with all federal and state laws.
If a resident in a Maryland or Washington D.C. area nursing home becomes injured or dies because the nursing home failed to protect the health and safety of the resident, the facility could be held liable for nursing home negligence or wrongful death. Our attorneys at Lebowitz and Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers represent victims and their families that wish to recover personal injury compensation from nursing home negligence and harm. Contact us today.
Nursing Home Responds to Wrongful Medication Death, ABC News, March 8, 2010
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