Florida Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers

Florida nursing homes have been cited for numerous deficiencies in the past ten years. Nursing home residents have suffered from severe abuse and neglect because of deficiencies in nursing homes. In 2008, over thirty-one percent of Florida (FL) nursing homes unlawfully used chemical restraints to restrain patients. Also, fifteen percent of FL nursing homes residents developed pressure sores because of neglect.

Was someone you loved injured or died a preventable death in a nursing facility? If so, contact the Florida nursing home abuse lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 today. Talk with our attorneys about your compensation case during a free initial consultation.

According to data maintained by Medicare, 692 nursing homes rated in the state regularly monitor through inspections, investigations, and surveys. Of these facilities, 159 (twenty-three) of the Florida nursing homes were deemed below average compared to national statistics after investigators identified serious deficiencies and violations.

Nursing Home Abuse Injury FAQsWhat Are the 5 Signs of Abuse?

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the five leading causes of abuse harming vulnerable adults and children include:

• Physical assault involving physical restraint, pinching, choking, slapping, and kicking
• Sexual assault involving nonconsensual inappropriate sexual contact like rape, sodomy, unwanted touching, coercion, sexual humiliation, sexual intimidation, indecent exposure, and sharing sexually explicit pornography
• Negligence involving action or inaction depriving vulnerable patients of access to water, food, medication, clothing, or health care, or creating an unhealthy or unsafe environment
• Financial exploitation involving thievery of a patient's credit cards, cash, personal belongings, or access into their bank account

What Are the Signs That Someone Has Been Abused?

Nursing Center patients are incredibly vulnerable to any form of neglect or abuse, including sexual assault, physical abuse, neglect, emotional distress, or financial exploitation.

Common indicators that someone has been harmed might involve:

• Lacerations, bruising, black eyes, welts, burns, and rope marks
• Extreme sedation (chemical restraint)
• Bruises and marks on the wrist (physical restraint)
• Unexpected behavioral changes
• Unexplained bleeding from the vagina or anus
• Open sores, cuts, puncture wounds, and unexplained injuries
• Sexually transmitted diseases and genital infections
• Bloodied, torn, or stained underclothing
• Unexplained bruising around the breasts and in the genital area
• Emotional agitation
• Evidence of sodomy, rape, or sexual assault
• Unsanitary living conditions
• Nonresponsive behavior when the victim becomes withdrawn
• Inadequate medical care
• Unsafe, hazardous, or dangerous conditions
• Abandonment
• Not administering prescribed drugs according to the doctor's orders

What Does Narcissistic Abuse Mean?

An article published in Psychology Today identifies narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) as a severe mental health issue. The abusive behavior might involve physical abuse, emotional assault, sexual assault, financial exploitation, or outbursts involving bullying, shaming, belittling, criticizing, blaming, undermining, threatening, and name-calling.

Abusive predators will often manipulate their victims using tactics, including covert aggression. The narcissistic abusive behavior might sabotage their victim through lying, revenge, withholding necessities, or avoiding responsibility.

Victims must often overcome a dangerous or hazardous condition caused by the narcissistic abuser.

How Do You Break the Cycle of Emotional Abuse?

Abusive predators could cause the victim's emotional distress when they feel isolated from society, family, and friends. The predator might use their manipulating powers to gain control over their victim outrightly or covertly.

The steps to break the cycle of emotional abuse caused by an abusive caregiver or partner might include:

• Stop making excuses for the manipulator's inappropriate behavior
• Stop feeling sorry for the abuser
• Stop providing second chances when the manipulator says they will stop their abusive actions
• Surround yourself with needed support from others that might include a company of good friends and sympathetic family members
• Protect yourself by rebuilding your broken confidence level that was likely stripped away by your abuser

What Does Neglect Look Like?

According to the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ), many mistreatment and neglect cases caused by caregivers go unreported. As a result, the victims often suffer a significant decline in their health and eventually died.

Nursing staff members might be negligent when providing care to vulnerable adults by withholding:

• Personal hygiene needs
• Health Care necessities
• Prescribed medications
• Medical care
• Food, liquids, and safe shelter
• Emotional support

By law, all registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and certified nursing assistants must follow established care standards and the facility's doctor's orders.

Can You Sue a Nursing Facility for Lack of Care?

Any victim neglected or abused by caregivers, family members, friends, or other residents could seek financial compensation through a civil lawsuit. An attorney working on behalf of the victim could file a claim citing reckless and negligent actions.

Surviving family members who lost a loved one by the reckless actions of others could file a wrongful death lawsuit to receive compensation for:

• Hospitalization costs
• Medical care expenses
• Diagnostic, occupational, physical, and rehabilitation therapies
• Lost past and future earnings
• Loss of companionship
• Loss of consortium
• Non-tangible damages including pain, suffering, grieving, mental anxiety, and emotional harm

A Florida Elder Abuse Attorney Can Help

Was your loved one injured, abused, neglected, or died unexpectedly while residing in a nursing facility? If so, contact the Florida personal injury attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center to discuss your claim for compensation during a free case evaluation to recover your damages.

Until anything is done to improve these disturbing conditions in nursing home facilities, nursing home residents have legal grounds to pursue claims against assisted living facilities for their injuries. Florida nursing home abuse lawyers will aggressively conduct their investigation of a nursing home facility and hold influential individuals in these facilities accountable for their disturbing and neglectful actions.

Signs of Abuse in Nursing Homes

Family members must recognize signs of abuse when they occur in nursing home facilities. The resident could suffer from injuries, including:

• Pressure sores
• Infections
• Open wounds
• Bleeding
• Skin irritation
• Dehydration and malnutrition
• Physical discomfort
• Silence and fear of speaking in front of caretakers
• Depression and constant anxiety
• Broken or fractured bones
• Weight loss
• Poor hygiene

Family members and staff workers noticing a resident suffering unexplained serious injury should file a report with the appropriate authority and get in touch with nursing home abuse lawyers.

Florida Nursing Home Laws

The state maintains strict laws regarding caregiving center residents' rights and standards that the nursing staff must meet. The Florida law governing standards of nursing homes can be found in Chapter 59A-4.

For example, every nursing home must appoint a full-time employee to ensure patient records' confidentiality. The resident's condition might be compromised at the nursing staff left out pertinent information in their medical records.

State laws have been designed to protect against the exploitation of elderly and disabled individuals. Abuse occurs when a worker intentionally inflicts injury or willfully neglects a resident.

A worker who commits this abuse will be liable for a third-degree felony punishable by Florida Statutes s.775.082, s.775.083, or s.775.084.

Nursing home residents are also entitled to specific rights under Florida law, including the right to:

• Private communications
• Freedom from restraint and coercion
• Manage their personal financial affairs
• The informed of medical treatments and recommendations
• Receive adequate medical treatment when necessary
• Be treated with dignity and respect
• Be free of physical abuse and sexual harm

Do you suspect that your loved one's rights have been violated under state law? If so, speak with a nursing home abuse lawyer who can help you today.

Filing a Nursing Home Abuse Report with State Authorities

The state's Long-Term Care Ombudsman Office handles reports of abuse and fraud. Family members should make all reports of abuse to the ombudsman's office.

Once a report is filed, investigators will review the complaint. Emergency protective services might be necessary to remove your loved one from the nursing home facility for their protection.

The state currently maintains a statewide system of seventeen district councils with volunteer ombudsmen that can be contacted at any time.

Get Help from Florida Nursing Home Lawyers Today

Do you suspect that your loved one is being abused in a nursing home? If so, protect their rights with help from Florida nursing home abuse attorneys.

We use our decades of experience to help families and residents throughout the State of Florida, including in:

• Cape Coral
• Fort Lauderdale
• Hialeah
• Jacksonville
• Miami
• Orlando
• Port St. Lucie
• Petersburg
• Tallahassee
• Tampa

Florida nursing home abuse lawyers can aggressively protect your loved one by fighting for the compensation they deserve. Please schedule an initial consultation with one of our lawyers today to begin the process.

Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers Serving Victims of Skin Breakdown, Pressure Sores & Decubitus Ulcers

There has been a significant increase in the demand for nursing home beds throughout the state in recent years. A survey conducted by the nonprofit Florida Center for Nursing shows that by 2015 more than 11,000 additional registered nurses will be needed in the state to accommodate the health requirements of the aging population.

However, the demand for highly trained nurses is already not being met, which places many nursing home residents at risk of harm while under the care of understaffed and overworked medical professionals.

The Florida bedsore lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center LLC are committed to holding negligent nursing homes and caregivers accountable for their negligent health care. Did your loved one develop a pressure sore after being admitted to a medical facility? If so, contact our office for a free review of your legal options..

There are strict time constraints for pursuing a case based on the state statute of limitations. Start legal action today and begin the legal process of determining who is responsible for your loved one's developing pressure ulcer.

Families are often separated from their aging loved ones who have retired in the southern state. When the time arises, families might be forced to place them in a nursing home to assist them with their health and daily activities.

Families trust that the nursing facility will provide quality medical care and necessities to their loved ones.

Unfortunately, nursing homes with no vacancies are often understaffed or fail to sufficiently train the nursing staff to handle daily care's common health issues. Understaffing often results in patients becoming victims of neglect, suffering harm like facility-acquired pressure sores.

Life-Threatening Pressure Wounds

Bedsores (pressure sores, pressure wounds, decubitus ulcers, pressure ulcers) are injuries to the patient's skin and underlying tissue. The sore begins to develop when pressure is applied to bony areas that touch the bed, chair, or other body parts.

Bedridden elderly patients and those unable to readjust their body position could quickly develop skin ulcers, even with mild pressure on an ankle, heal, buttocks, sacrum, spine, shoulder blades, shoulder, or back of the head.

Call (800) 926-7565 Toll-Free for a No Obligation Consultation

Responsibly managed nursing homes create and implement monitoring protocols to ensure every patient is kept free from developing skin ulcers. The protocol usually involves assessing the patient's skin at the beginning of every nursing shift change.

Any noticeable sign of a developing sore is recorded in the patient's chart to alert the doctor to begin steps to heal the wound. Additional protocols require that the patient be turned or readjusted at least one time every two hours.

During the early stages, pressure wounds can advance to a reddening inflamed sore. Without treatment, the wound can degrade to a severe condition, where fat, muscle, tendons, and bone are exposed.

At this advanced age, the elderly patient could easily acquire a blood infection (sepsis) or bone infection (osteomyelitis). In advanced stages, the pressure sore can be tough to treat and will often cause permanent damage or lead to death.

Facility-acquired pressure wounds might be evidence of legally actionable medical malpractice.

Many families living too far away from the long-term care facility cannot regularly visit and are not always aware when their loved one develops a pressure sore. When the family is notified of a changing health condition, the sore is often in its advancing stages where it is already caused significant harm or death.

A Sign of Negligence on the Part of the FL Facility Where the Wound Developed

Pressure wounds are extremely easy to avoid when trained nursing home employees follow proper protocols. Alternatively, facility-acquired sores are usually an indicator of negligence at the facility.

If your loved one developed pressure wounds, consider talking with an experienced Florida personal injury law firm to take action to stop the negligence and mistreatment.

Below is a list of reputable professionals who can assist the family in providing various legal options, including bringing in highly skilled medical professionals specialized in treating difficult pressure ulcer cases.

If you are looking for an attorney to assist with the investigation or prosecution of a nursing home abuse case involving pressure sores or another severe injury, visit the pages below:

• St. Petersburg Pressure Sore & Nursing Home Attorneys
• Miami Nursing Home Abuse & Decubitus Sore Lawyers
• Tampa Pressure Wound & Nursing Home Neglect Attorneys
• Orlando Nursing Home Neglect & Pressure Ulcer Attorneys
• Jacksonville Nursing Home & Pressure Sore Lawyers
• West Palm Beach Pressure Sore & Elder Home Attorneys

Hiring a Florida Pressure Sore Injury Attorney

Have you noticed any signs of nursing home abuse involving a loved one and want to file a personal injury compensation lawsuit or wrongful death claim? Time is of the essence. All documents must be submitted in the appropriate county courthouse before the state statute of limitations expires.

The Florida nursing home negligence lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center LLC can take immediate legal action to stop the harm and hold all parties responsible for the injury accountable for their action. Contact our law firm today or through the contact form to schedule a free consultation..

Our personal injury lawyers follow social distancing guidelines to prevent the spread of Covid-19 (coronavirus).

Look here for a thorough discussion of pressure wound settlements and case valuations.

Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect Resources