Nurse Indicted for Falsifying Records and Diverting Narcotics from Nursing Home Patients
In an act of nursing home malpractice consistent both with false charting and with nursing home medication errors, a nursing home nurse falsified paperwork to divert drugs from her New York patients.
A nurse working at a New York nursing home has been indicted for allegedly altering medical records and diverting patients’ drugs to herself, says a Wayne Times article. Anita L. Walker, 34, a contract agency nurse, allegedly diverted oxycodone from patients at the Demay Living Center on or about Aug. 28, 2020, reportedly repeating the diversion multiple times the following day.
When the incident of nursing home malpractice was discovered, Walker was immediately terminated; a NYS Department of Health investigation was promptly initiated. Once the Wayne County District Attorney’s Office became involved, Walker was indicted. The charges include four counts of Felony Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree and four counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree.
The alleged acts reflect two common forms of nursing home malpractice: false charting and nursing home medication errors.
False charting is the intentional forging of medical documents in nursing homes, including Philadelphia/Pennsylvania and New Jersey homes, for the purpose of hiding something. Whether the falsification of documents is to cover up mistakes, to indicate care has been given when it has not, or, as in the above case, to hide the diversion of drugs, false charting is a serious type of nursing home malpractice. It can have far-reaching and damaging effects, particularly for vulnerable patients whose prescribed care is negatively impacted, resulting in illness, injury, or possibly even death, warranting the involvement of a wrongful death attorney.
Medication errors, which involve the incorrect giving of or withholding of medication, are frequently incidences of nursing home malpractice. Deliberately taking patients’ medication, as allegedly occurred in this case, can result in serious, and even life-threatening, consequences for nursing home patients, meriting a call to a nursing home malpractice lawyer or, in tragic circumstances, the involvement of a wrongful death attorney.
Protecting against Nursing Home Malpractice and Wrongful Death
Attorney Brian P. Murphy is an accomplished nursing home malpractice lawyer and wrongful death attorney experienced in helping residents of Philadelphia/PA and NJ nursing homes. Your loved one living in a Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, or New Jersey nursing home should live free from worry about suffering elder abuse, neglect, or any kind of nursing home malpractice. Brian Murphy holds accountable negligent Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing homes for medication errors, false charting, and any event of nursing home malpractice that results in wrongful death. Attorney Brian Murphy is ready to discuss your legal options. If you or your loved one needs to contact a nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, call Brian Murphy today.
