A recent study has found that one in five Medicare patients has sustained injuries from treatment unrelated to their existing medical condition.
Patients are sometimes given the wrong medication, have allergic reactions to certain medications, or receive treatments that exasperate their existing medical conditions.
Lead researcher and gerontology program director at Towson University in Maryland, Mary Carter, said the study consisted of data from over 12,500 Medicare beneficiaries between 1998 and 2005, with 19% of them having suffered from at least one adverse medical event.
Yale University Prevention Research Center director and American College of Lifestyle Medicine president Dr. David Katz mentioned that “medical care, while pledged to avoid harm above all, actually imposes quite a bit of it. Medical injury is all too common, and adverse effects of treatment are common, even in the absence of error.”
Nursing home residents should be able to spend the rest of their years relaxing, not worrying about whether they will be harmed by negligent medical personnel. As such, if your loved one is in a nursing home and has been the victim of abuse, legal action can be taken against the negligent party. Contact our Austin attorneys at Hotze Runkle PLLC by dialing (877) 919-0830.