Have You Been Injured? We're Ready to Fight for You.

Nursing Home Finds Nurse Stealing Drugs

Published on May 14, 2014 by Thomas Law Offices.

Kentucky Nursing Home Neglect An employee at a nursing home in Bullitt County has been accused of stealing drugs from the residents. The good news is that the staff at the Green Meadows Health Care facility in Mount Washington became suspicious of her activity within her first week and took action.

The woman, a 36-year-old registered nurse, aroused suspicion because she kept insisting on giving patients their medications by herself. She insisted that she knew what she was doing.

The Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office stated that, “She said she didn’t need anybody going with her – she’d done it before, she knew what she was doing – is what she stated to them so they didn’t follow her around. And they started noticing discrepancies the next day.”

The Green Meadows Health Care staff alerted authorities. The nurse has been charged with forgery, fraud, and theft of a controlled substance.

The nursing home believes the nurse stole 26 dosages of narcotics in five days – they included hydrocodone, oxycodone, and OxyContin. She did this by using the names of nine different nurses. She also took drugs she claimed to have given to patients, which is a grave concern if those patients were not treated for their pain.

The follow-up investigation revealed that the woman had, earlier in the year, been to several doctors trying to get prescriptions for those same drugs. Authorities believe she stole the drugs to feed her own addiction to the medications. “Once your body adapts to it, you need more and more,” the Sheriff’s Office said.

Thankfully the staff at the Mount Washington home were alert to the signs. In a South Carolina home a few years ago, two different employees, acting separately, stole narcotics from residents for years. They altered patient’s charts to make it look as if they’d been given the pain medication.

Just another reason for families of loved ones to keep a close eye on how patient treatment and safety protocols are followed. Stealing of drugs by health practitioners is a rampant problem in hospitals as well. Experts say implementing drug testing is a costly avenue, and that such testing is complicated. If poor nursing home staff behavior resulted in injury or illness to an elderly loved one, contact Thomas Law Offices to discuss your legal options at no cost to your family.

Free Case Evaluation

At Thomas Law Offices, our personal injury attorneys recognize that our potential clients are likely going through some of the most difficult times of their lives. We don't want you to have to worry about paying out of pocket for legal advice when you're just starting to learn your legal rights and options. That's why we provide free case evaluations. We'll offer our expert advice about your potential case and walk you through how we can help you.

Call us or fill out the form below to tell us about your potential case and a personal injury lawyer will get back to you as quickly as possible.

Meet Our Founder

Tad Thomas - Trial Lawyer

Tad Thomas

Managing Partner

Tad Thomas has dedicated his practice to representing plaintiffs in various types of civil litigation, including personal injury, business litigation, class actions, and multi-district litigation.

After graduating with his law degree in 2000 from Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University, Mr. Thomas immediately opened his own private practice and began representing injury victims.

In 2011, Thomas Law Offices was established in Louisville, Kentucky. Over the past decade, Mr. Thomas has expanded his firm and now has offices in three additional locations: Cincinnati, Ohio, Columbia, Missouri, and Chicago, Illinois. He is also a frequent lecturer on topics like trial skills and ethics and technology.

Legal & Firm News

What Injuries Commonly Cause Death in Car Accidents?

Car accidents have the potential to cause serious, lasting injuries to drivers and passengers alike. Unfortunately, we know that not every accident victim will survive a crash. Many serious injuries commonly cause death in car accidents, leaving surviving family members to deal with the emotional and financial losses. Whether driving on the Dan Ryan Expressway […]

Read More

What To Do if You Have Back Pain After a Car Accident

Even a seemingly minor car accident has the potential to cause severe, catastrophic, and life-altering injuries. Knowing what steps to take in the immediate aftermath of a collision can be difficult, though, especially if you’re in pain and feeling scared. At Thomas Law Offices, it is our goal to arm our clients with the knowledge […]

Read More

The Old National Bank Shooting Victims Plan to Sue Radical Firearms for Damages

Individuals who were visiting or working in Louisville on the morning of April 10th knew little about why the police and paramedics were speeding down E. Main Street in the direction of Old National Bank in the downtown area. However, it wasn’t long thereafter that the reason for those first responders’ sense of urgency to […]

Read More
Tad Thomas on The National Crime Victim Bar Association
National Civil Justice Institute - Trustee
Tad Thomas on Lawyer Minds
Tad Thomas on American Association for Justice
Southern Trial Lawyers Association
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association
Ohio Association for Justice
Kentucky Justice Association
Fellows of the Litigation Counsel of America
Martindale Hubbell Preeminent
2021 Public Justice Member
AAJ Masters of Trial Law: Champion