Lawsuit Filed Over Nursing Home Death

A nursing home in Chicago has been sued over the death of a patient in January of 2001. According to a report in the Chicago Tribune, the lawsuit alleges that the patient died because they were given incorrect doses of medications. The report goes on to detail that the lawsuit seeks damages in excess of $200,000. Unfortunately, the impetus for this lawsuit is a rather common one in nursing home abuse and wrongful death lawsuits.

Overmedication.

Patients in nursing homes, whether they are elderly individuals receiving the advanced care that is sometimes required for the end of one's life or patients who are younger and are in nursing homes for another reason are overmedicated far too often. Sometimes, overmedication is used as a strategy to mollify patients who are difficult to deal with and who may require a great deal of attention otherwise. In other cases, patients are overmedicated simply out of negligence on the part of the nursing home staff.
No matter what reason leads to the patient being overmedicated, overmedication can be deadly. If a patient is receiving too much of a medication that has significant side effects, for example, the side effects may be greatly amplified in their severity by the increased doses of medication. If the medication is a tranquilizer or a medication with tranquilizing properties, the end effect can be the same as it would be if someone were to overdose on sedatives intentionally, which is an all too common way that people attempt suicide.

Taking action.

If you have a loved one who lost their life in a nursing home facility and you believe that overmedication was an issue, you should speak with an attorney about the matter. A nursing home abuse lawyer can take a look at the circumstances surrounding the case and determine whether or not it would be appropriate for you to file a lawsuit over the matter.
Nursing home abuse has been in the news quite a bit lately. Unfortunately, because many of the people in nursing homes are very vulnerable, they oftentimes end up being the targets of abuse simply because they don't have anyone to advocate for them. In cases where abuse is ongoing, their families oftentimes have to serve as their advocates and make certain that they are being given proper care and that they are being monitored in every way necessary to ensure their best possible health.