State inspectors of nursing homes have an important job: Ensuring that facilities are doing all they should be to protect and provide adequate care for our elderly, vulnerable loved ones. Some might argue inspections don’t occur frequently enough and may not be as thorough as they should be. But we…
For the abuse and wrongful death of a 96-year-old woman in a nursing home facility three years ago, a facility will have to pay $1.2 million to her surviving daughters. The abuse came to light after the victim’s family installed a hidden camera to catch an apparent thief who was…
Most states, including Florida, have established a list of rights to which nursing home residents are entitled. Violation of these provisions may result in state or federal sanctions or the right of the resident and/or surviving family member to pursue civil action against the facility or staffers. For example, F.S.…
An elderly resident at a Florida nursing home received double his daily medication for a full year before anyone discovered the mistake. This error is egregious in itself, but the greater problem is it’s not an isolated incident throughout the state – and it puts vulnerable patients at grave risk…
Low-rated nursing homes are being rewarded with billions in federal funding to secure better interest rates on mortgages, despite having been cited for egregious instances of abuse and neglect of patients. An investigation, launched by the Center for Public Integrity, indicated that since 2009, hundreds of nursing homes across the…
There has been increased media coverage and attention given to the rise in nursing home abuse and neglect, and for good reason. According to a recent report, one in five nursing home patients suffers abuse by another resident. The study found that 19.8 percent of residents at 10 nursing home…
Making the decision to put your elderly loved one in 24-hour-care can be emotional and difficult. In Florida, families should be concerned with the quality of care being provided, as well as the potential for negligence and abuse. In a recent case, a nursing home resident who suffered from Alzheimer’s…
Every year, thousands of nursing homes are the subject of lawsuits and litigation throughout the country. Rarely do those cases make national headlines. A private equity firm has been the target of a long-awaited trial that is being held in a Tampa bankruptcy court. According to Huffington Post, the case…
It is becoming standard in many nursing home abuse and negligence cases to find defendants pushing to have claims settled in arbitration. Often when nursing home patients are admitted, they and/or their relatives are bombarded with stacks of paperwork, which often include an “arbitration agreement,” binding parties who sign to…
For years, the government has warned nursing homes and hospices about requesting or providing illegal compensation to influence where nursing homes refer patients for hospice care. Such action is in direct violation of both the federal False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statute. Now, in a series of prosecutions, the…