• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Johnstone & Gabhart, LLP

Charleston Personal Injury Attorneys

304-343-7100
Contact for Free Case Review
Home and Hospital Visits Available
  • Home
  • Our Firm
    • Our Attorneys
    • Meet Our Staff
  • Results
  • Accidents
    • Bus Accidents
    • Car Accident Attorneys
      • Lawsuits
      • Statistics
      • Uninsured Motorist
    • Bike Crash Attorneys
    • Distracted Driving Accidents
    • Drunk Driving Accidents
    • Motorcycle Accidents
    • Pedestrian Accidents
    • Rear-End Accidents
    • Texting While Driving
    • Truck Accidents
      • 18 Wheeler Accidents
    • Uber Accidents
  • Injury
    • Back and Spine Injury
    • Brain Injury
    • Construction Accidents
    • Dog Attacks
    • Nursing Home Abuse
    • Medical Malpractice
    • Slip and Fall
    • Premises Liability
    • Product Liability
    • Wrongful Death
  • Blog
  • Contact
    • Huntington
      • Car Accident Lawyer
    • Kanawha County
    • St. Albans, WV
    • No-Fee Unless You Win
  • Home
  • Our Firm
    • Our Attorneys
    • Meet Our Staff
  • Results
  • Accidents
    • Bus Accidents
    • Car Accident Attorneys
      • Lawsuits
      • Statistics
      • Uninsured Motorist
    • Bike Crash Attorneys
    • Distracted Driving Accidents
    • Drunk Driving Accidents
    • Motorcycle Accidents
    • Pedestrian Accidents
    • Rear-End Accidents
    • Texting While Driving
    • Truck Accidents
      • 18 Wheeler Accidents
    • Uber Accidents
  • Injury
    • Back and Spine Injury
    • Brain Injury
    • Construction Accidents
    • Dog Attacks
    • Nursing Home Abuse
    • Medical Malpractice
    • Slip and Fall
    • Premises Liability
    • Product Liability
    • Wrongful Death
  • Blog
  • Contact
    • Huntington
      • Car Accident Lawyer
    • Kanawha County
    • St. Albans, WV
    • No-Fee Unless You Win
Call
Contact

Are West Virginia Nursing Homes Overmedicating Patients?

Published by Sonny Johnstone in Nursing Home Neglect on Wednesday, February 25, 2015

It’s hard to believe anyone, who studied and trained to safeguard the health and well-being of patients, would overmedicate West Virginia nursing home residents on purpose. Unfortunately, the practice is not as uncommon as many Charleston residents think. One-third of U.S. nursing homes have been cited for patient abuse.

In 2010, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reported almost 40 percent of nursing home residents were given antipsychotic drugs, including patients without psychotic disorders. The same report also said 17 percent were administered antipsychotic drugs daily, in doses above recommended limits. An estimated 15,000 nursing home deaths each year are caused by antipsychotic drugs that patients were not prescribed!

Why does this happen? Some medication errors are accidental, the result of a rushed nurse giving the wrong pill or the wrong dosage. Horrifically, some nursing homes use medications to control patients’ behavior to alleviate pressures caused by understaffing — a form of nursing home neglect, often fueled by an operator’s desire to turn a higher profit.

Most nursing home residents take multiple medications, an average of about eight different drugs monthly. Federal prescription drug administration rules are in place, yet the regulations often are ignored. Overmedication incidents frequently aren’t reported, forcing family members to monitor a loved one’s drug intake.

A nursing home resident may not be aware he or she has been given the wrong drugs. Observing the patient’s behavior may provide clues. Unusual tiredness or longer-than-normal sleeping patterns, reclusiveness, confusion and sudden personality changes are among signs of overmedication and other forms of elder abuse.

Family members can ask the nursing home staff to show them the list of drugs given to a loved one. Keep in mind, a nursing home that administers drugs illegally also is likely to be fabricating the contents of drug logs. Outside assistance from a doctor, an ombudsman or an attorney can be invaluable.

Source: Inside Elder Care, “How to Spot Overmedication in Nursing Homes” Ryan Malone, accessed Feb. 25, 2015

Sonny Johnstone

Charles M. Johnstone, II (“Sonny”) is the managing member of the firm. He has been practicing law in the states of West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky since graduating from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1988.


Recent Posts

  • Allstate Insurance Accident Claim Lawsuits and Settlement
  • Erie Insurance Accident Claims, Lawsuits, and Settlements
  • Nationwide Insurance Accident Claim Lawsuits and Settlements in West Virginia
  • 2021 Johnstone & Gabhart Mother’s Day Diaper Drop Event
  • Charleston, WV Top Stories of 2020

Contact Us

Johnstone & Gabhart LLP
1125 Virginia Street E
Charleston, WV 25301
Hours – Open 24 hours
Phone: 304-343-7100
EMAIL US

Map & Reviews

Johnstone & Gabhart personal injury attorneys map

Review Us

Johnstone Gabhart logo
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2022