Elderly Lives Matter®

Accidental Drug Abuse in a Nursing Home

On Behalf of | Jun 17, 2020 | Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

As an age group, senior citizens tend to use a lot of drugs and medications. These are often given out on a prescription basis to help with the challenges of aging.

For instance, per the American Academy of Family Physicians, roughly 30% of people from 57 years old to 85 years old have a minimum of five prescriptions that they take. Many of them take these medications every single day.

As such, the chance for drug abuse and addiction issues is fairly high. The level of exposure is greater than it would be for other age groups. Mistakes are made. In fact, medical experts suggest that accidental abuse or misuse of drugs is the most common problem.

What does that look like? It could mean taking more than prescribed or mixing medications that should not be mixed. It could mean failing to stop use at the proper time and becoming addicted.

In a nursing home setting, the elderly count on the staff members to help guide the use of medications. They’re supposed to make sure the right ones are being used and that all instructions are being followed. If the staff neglects an elderly person and does not provide this assistance, it could lead to a critical error that leads to injury, addiction or even death. While it may be accidental misuse by the elderly person, that’s still a massive oversight by the staff members charged with making sure such a thing does not happen.

If your loved one was neglected, ignored, given the wrong medication or allowed to make these crucial mistakes, you need to know what legal options you have.

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