Nursing home abuse can come in many different forms, and one of the most debilitating and difficult to discover is a senior who is being over medicated. Overmedication in seniors can come in many different forms, including adverse drug interactions or too many drugs in their system.
Medication is ubiquitous throughout nursing homes and assisted living centers across the country, including Phoenix, Arizona. As a result, there are over 38 million cases of older Americans suffering from drug complications every year. Overmedication is a type of nursing home abuse that can completely transform the way a person’s physical and mental health.
The medical professionals at nursing homes are responsible for providing your loved one with the right medication. When someone receives too much of a drug or too many drugs, they can suffer serious personal injury that can even lead to wrongful death .
One of the benefits of choosing a lawyer who is also a doctor is that your attorney can review your family member’s medical history to find out if they have been or are being overmedicated. Lawyers who are also doctors have the experience and education to spot overmedication so that victims can begin the recovery process from this nursing home abuse.
Nursing home abuse such as overmedication can chemically restrain older people and prevent them from living as they normally would. To help victims recover from overmedication injuries, doctors, nursing staff, and assisted living centers can be held responsible for the injuries they have caused.
Some of the most common signs of overmedication include:
- Fatigue
- Memory Loss
- Confusion
- Swelling
- Pain
- Abdominal Pain
A dangerous fact about overmedication is that it can lead to even more prescriptions being given to your family member. Many times doctors perceive these signs of overmedication as symptoms of other ailments, prescribing even more medication in the hopes of correcting them.
In addition to the injuries caused by the overmedication, there are other dangers associated with taking too many prescriptions. For overmedicated seniors falls and other physical injuries can be more likely if the prescriptions are interfering with their balance. A powerful combination of drugs can make walking, standing, eating, and accomplishing many other activities nearly impossible.
