Florida Nursing Home Lawyer Blog
Nursing homes must be in compliance with state safety regulations and any violations can result in civil penalties, fines, and even criminal charges.
In a recent case, a Florida nursing home was fined $36,000 for numerous clerical and medical errors. According to the Agency for Health Care Administration, the West Melbourne Health & Rehabilitation Center was fined for these infractions after an administrative complaint inspection in December.
According to the report, which was filed in April, the nursing home will now be subjected to inspections every six months for the next two years. While state inspections can help prevent future injuries and wrongful deaths in nursing homes, these violations and acts of negligence continue to occur throughout Florida. In the most tragic cases, negligence, abuse, or violations are not discovered until it is too late.
Our Fort Lauderdalenursing home injury attorneys are committed to protecting the rights of victims and their families. We will explore every case to uncover misconduct or medical malpractice, when such negligence results in the injury or wrongful death of a nursing home patient.
Nursing home patients must be properly cared for to ensure nutritional, medical, and safety needs are met. Failure to follow physician instructions, provide necessary medical treatment, administer drugs and monitor patients can result in serious accident or injury.
According to the report, the facility failed to follow physician orders regarding medical treatment. The health care workers also failed to assess bruising from an unknown source and did not administer necessary blood-thinning drugs to a specific patient. The report also indicated that staff members did not follow protocol or keep medical records updated. One patient was improperly prescribed three different drug treatments to be administered at the same time.
According to the report, the noncompliance of the facility had caused or was likely to cause serious harm, injury, impairment or death. The report also included details about bruising on a patient’s abdomen and inner thighs which suggested internal bleeding. Nursing home safety advocates were outraged at the failed care and neglect, which resulted in a patient suffer serious injury and the threat of fatality. As there are are no federal mandates, state agencies are necessary to enforce and penalize care facilities.
The patient in question was admitted in September with heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and other disorders. The patient was unresponsive and likely suffered a stroke and respiratory failure related to a blood clot. The patient died in December. This is a tragic example of how neglect and failed nursing home care can lead to death of a resident. In this case, failure to monitor the patient, incorrect administration of drugs, improper documentation, as well as general neglect resulted in the death of a patient.
The AHCA reports that there were 88 Florida nursing homes served with administrative complaints in 2013. A representative of the nursing home failed to comment on the investigation and the penalties.
Call Freeman Injury Law — 1-800-561-7777 for a free appointment to discuss your case.
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