Articles Posted in nursing home neglect

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Identifying Fort Lauderdale nursing home neglect during holidays may not be a pleasant thought when planning on visiting a loved one in a skilled nursing facility. It might seem such unpleasant observations/ topics shouldn’t mar what is supposed to be a festive time.

Still, our Fort Lauderdale nursing home injury attorneys would urge loved ones to consider at least taking a moment to learn about potential red flags, given that:

  • Residents get more visitors over the holidays and for longer, so issues you may not have noticed before may become more glaring;
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Many times after a loved one is injures or dies as a result of nursing home neglect or negligence, our South Florida nursing home injury lawyers are asked how to get out of hospital medical bills. We have heard of instances wherein nursing home administrators have given families misleading or false information about recovering compensation for these bills.

Once, a nursing home administrator told the family of a patient who died of neglect that it would be a “waste of time” to file a lawsuit against them for medical bills because anything they won would go back to Medicaid and/ or Medicare (or whatever health insurer covered the patient prior to death). This is not so, though it’s impossible to say whether this advice was intentionally misleading or the result of a misunderstanding. When you ask “How to get out of hospital medical bills,”  realize that some of those bills have already been covered by the health care insurer. Usually, nursing home patients are covered by Medicaid, a health care plan for people in poverty, as opposed to Medicare, a federal health insurance program for older Americans that does not provide coverage for long-term care, only short stints between a hospital stay and returning home.

What this administrator was likely referring to is something called “subrogation.” This is a type of insurance principle, spelled out specifically with regard to Medicaid in F.S. 409.910, that bars plaintiffs (those seeking compensation) from “double-dipping,” or collecting from two different payers for a single injury. So if Medicaid foots most of the bill for your loved one’s nursing home injuries, you sue the nursing home for negligence that caused those injuries,  Medicaid’s contribution to those medical bills will need to be repaid from whatever amount you’ve been awarded for medical bills as part of the settlement or verdict. And of course, there may be some medical expenses you still paid out-of-pocket. Continue reading →

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Nursing home care is often viewed as a sort of moral obligation, a duty to one’s elders. Still, absent federal and state regulations for nursing homes, this care can fall short, leaving the ill and elderly vulnerable to neglect and abuse. In fact, it was widespread nursing home abuse and neglect in the 1980s that led to the federal  Nursing Home Reform Act in 1987. 

Nursing homes that receive funding from Medicare or Medicaid (which is virtually all of them) are required at minimum to follow federal nursing home standards. However, state regulations for nursing homes, such as those adopted by Florida, must also be followed if facilities want to continue to receive this funding.

Florida State Regulations for Nursing Homes

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When it comes to the top examples of wrongful death cases in Florida nursing homes, sepsis – particularly when caused by bedsores (also known as pressure ulcers) is a primary example. In fact, as our nursing home wrongful death attorneys in Orlando understand it, a recent report by Kaiser Health News and The Chicago Tribune reveals that despite the fact nursing homes around the country repeatedly fail to prevent bedsores and other infections leading to deadly cases of sepsis, there is no official source that tracks sepsis cases that turn fatal.

Sepsis is an infection of the bloodstream that can develop within patients who are bedridden if they have pneumonia, urinary tract infections or other conditions – like bedsores.

It’s imperative that plaintiffs who suspect an elderly loved one’s sepsis was the result of negligence discuss these options with a nursing home negligence attorney because the wrongful death statute of limitations in Florida is just two years. That may be just enough time to conduct a thorough investigation and properly prepare a claim – particularly if the case is considered a form of medical negligence. That’s because wrongful death statute pertaining to medical malpractice cases is even more complex because of requirements to file proper notice, retain an expert witness with the same relevant education and experience as defendant and making certain all defendants are properly identified.  Continue reading →

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In Florida, the wrongful death statute outlined in Chapter 768 of Florida Statutes allows civil lawsuits to be filed in court when another person’s negligent act or omission causes the death of another person. This can include care – or lack of care – provided in a nursing home environment. As nursing home neglect and wrongful death attorneys in Fort Lauderdale know, a fair number of these cases center not so much on what nursing home staff did as what they failed to do. This can be the case when individuals suffer the ill effects of poor sanitation and basic care guidelines on how to halt the spread of disease and infection. This includes those condition spread by pests or caused by them directly. 

That includes conditions like scabies. a highly-contagious skin condition (spread most often by skin-to-skin contact, but also with shared towels, bedding and clothing) and caused by a parasitic mite called Sarcoptes scabiei, or the human itch mite. The mite burrows into the top layer of one’s skin, where it then lives and feeds. Although it can technically affect anyone, it is, as noted by the epidemiology program at the Florida Department of Health, it is often reported in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. While scabies isn’t typically listed in common examples of wrongful death cases in nursing homes, that is not to say complications from the skin condition can’t be deadly. Continue reading →

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Spinal cord injuries, more than most other types, have the potential to cause significant, profound and devastating disabilities and limitations. Nursing homes that agree to care for patients with spinal cord injuries have responsibility to ensure their patients receive the appropriate level of care. The state and federal government often pays much more for these patients to receive a higher degree of care, and Fort Lauderdale spinal cord injury attorneys know nursing homes that don’t provide it can be deemed liable if it results in further injury, loss of life quality or an untimely death. 

It is possible some spinal cord injuries might actually be caused by negligent nursing home case, such as in a fall where aides or nurses failed to properly assist in toileting or getting in and out of bed.

However, it’s not among the more common injuries associated with nursing homes. More frequently, those with serious spinal cord injuries may be cared for – temporarily or permanently – in such a facility, but due to lack of mobility and independence and lack of sensation in certain areas of the body, they are more vulnerable to the same injury and illness risks all other nursing home patients face. This is especially true for those with quadriplegia, wherein all limbs are affected, as opposed to paraplegia, where only one’s legs are immobile. Those with a complete spinal cord injury (where there is a total severing of the cord) also are at higher risk than those with incomplete spinal cord injuries, as the latter may still retain some sensation and mobility.  Continue reading →

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Our U.S. military veterans deserve our utmost gratitude and respect for the sacrifices they have made to keep our country safer. Much of their care falls under the umbrella of the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs, often referred to simply as, “the VA.” One would assume the care provided by the VA would be top-of-the-line. However, a recent report by USA Today reveals the nursing home care provided to veterans appears to be less-than-ideal.

In fact, some of the lowest-rated nursing homes in the country are apparently those that provide care to veterans. That includes one in Tampa, Florida. This and 10 others scattered nationally from Massachusetts to Arizona have earned the lowest possible one-star rating (on a scale of 1-to-5) from the VA on the basis of the overall quality they provide as well as the findings during surprise inspections.

Among the problems cited by USA Today:

  • Nurse’s aides trying by themselves to lift 90+-year-old patients and transfer them from wheelchairs to beds.
  • Patients struggling to feed themselves unsuccessfully with spoons, despite staffers sitting nearby.
  • Veterans lying naked in beds covered by stained sheets.

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Quality of nursing home care – more than one’s actual diagnosis – is the predictor in whether a patient avoids hospitalizations and rehospitalizations. This is important to know because hospitalization means a patient is already the point of suffering emergency or serious health problems. It disrupts one’s care and with long-term nursing home patients, we often see a significant decline in health and functioning following discharge from a hospital. This is especially true for frail, older adults. 

Avoiding deterioration to that point is preferred, which means we need to know what’s landing nursing home residents in the hospital in the first place.

As long-time nursing home negligence attorneys in Boca Raton, we can tell you that of course not every nursing home patient who is hospitalized is there because of negligence, abuse or medical malpractice by the nursing home, staffers or medical contractors. Many nursing home patients are already quite sick to start. However, if you suspect your loved one may have received care that fell below the accepted standard and that this may have played a role in the decline of your loved one’s health, talking to a nursing home injury attorney can help either put your mind at ease or start the process of seeking accountability for wrongdoing. Continue reading →

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Federal data shows what our nursing home neglect attorneys in Orlando have long known: The majority of nursing homes have fewer care-taking staff and nurses than what they had reported to government regulators. It’s well-established that the fewer individuals on the care-taking staff, the higher the risk the elderly and vulnerable residents will suffer abuse or neglect.

We often have family members who suspect that staffing levels at their loved one’s nursing home were inadequate, but are often not provided with straight answers by the facility. In some cases, they may be flat-out deceived.

Where evidence of inadequate staffing levels exists, it can go a long way in proving negligence. It’s not difficult to understand that when a patient’s needs are significant (as most nursing home residents are), it’s going to take time to adequately meet those needs. When there aren’t enough staffers, day-to-day care can fall by the wayside. This can result in substantial injuries and illnesses, such as pressure ulcers, falls and major dental problems. Continue reading →

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A 98-year-old woman reportedly died a painful death after extended exposure to the Florida sun at the West Palm Beach nursing home where she resided. According to a nursing home neglect lawsuit filed by her granddaughter recently, the woman had been left unattended for an undetermined period of time. She had worked her whole life laboring in fields, picking vegetables in the Sunshine State. But in her frail state, her skin blistered in the sun as her body temperature rose. By the time she was discovered and rushed to a nearby hospital, she was unresponsive, her internal temperature was 103.2 degrees. She was suffering from severe hydration, heat stroke and second-degree burns covered her mouth, arms, and shoulders. 

An investigation with the Department of Children and Families determined the woman had been inadequately supervised. The county medical examiner in Palm Beach opined she’d died due to hyperthermia, resulting from heat and sun exposure. However to date, nursing home abuse lawyers can find no evidence the facility or its staffers have been held accountable through typical channels. DCF’s investigation is closed (without reaching a finding as to the length of time decedent was exposed to the elements unsupervised), but that of the West Palm Beach police is still active. The state’s nursing home regulator, Agency for Health Care Administration, didn’t respond to the Palm Beach Post’s request for comment or insight.

The nursing home and granddaughter paint two very different pictures of the woman’s abilities and mental state. The home’s executive director stated that although the woman did use a wheelchair, she was able to get in and out of the facility on her own. The director also suggested it may have been possible, given the woman’s health history, that paramedics provided her en route to the hospital with a medication to which she suffered an allergic reaction. Continue reading →

Contact Information
WEST PALM BEACH
5 Harvard Cir #110,
West Palm Beach, FL 33409
Phone: 561-999-9999
Fax: 561-689-4310
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8751 W Broward Blvd #106
Plantation, FL 33324
Phone: 954-999-9999
Toll Free: 800-561-7777
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Miami, FL 33156
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Fax: 954-979-1225
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258 Southhall Ln #140
Maitland, FL 32751
Phone: 407-999-9999
Fax: 407-956-3820

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