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The Tampa Bay Times reported in February 2023 that there has been a doubling of serious Florida nursing home violations since 2019. The newspaper’s investigation of state inspections showed the following:

• A wheelchair-bound man was left outside on a 95-degree summer day at a St. Petersburg nursing home. When he was discovered by the nursing home staff, he was unresponsive with a body temperature of 106º.
• Inspectors found at least two incidences where nursing home residents in Brandon and Oldsmar were tied up in bed, one of the residents was cognitively impaired.
• A Tampa nursing home staff member failed to notify a resident’s doctor about some lab results that would have required a change in medications. This oversight caused the man to be rushed to the hospital where he remained for 11 days.

The above examples of violations are only 4 of the 83 times Florida nursing homes were cited for violations in 2022. These violations are known as class 1 deficiencies that require immediate corrective action because residents are in jeopardy of injury or potential tragic death.

A quarter of the violations in 2022 were the result of residents escaping from facilities. For example, a man tragically died after he escaped from a Live Oak facility, where his escape was undetected. As a result, he was struck by a car.

Southwest Florida was not spared. A Florida Department of Health and Human Services report showed that a Naples nursing home resident had his leg amputated after the staff left a pressure ulcer untreated. 

Serious violations reported in federal and state inspection reports detail a nursing home’s “plan of correction” that shows how the facility will prevent similar incidents. Nursing homes that have been cited with repeat violations can lose their Medicare and Medicaid funding which is the agency’s “last resort after all other attempts to remedy the deficiencies at a facility have been exhausted.”

The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, which oversees Florida nursing homes, initiated investigations based on 3 out of 5 complaints from nursing home residents and/or their families. These investigations are random and in addition to regularly scheduled investigations. The agency reported that staff shortages and insufficient training were the cause of more than half of the serious violations.

Health Services Insights' “Appropriate Nurse Staffing Levels for U.S. Nursing Homes” reports that “U.S. nursing homes are required to have sufficient nursing staff with appropriate competencies to assure resident safety and attain, or maintain, the highest practical level of physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being of each resident.” 

Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law new legislation in 2021, and again in 2022, to help alleviate the nursing home staff shortages, with mixed support from the nursing home industry, lawmakers, and AARP Florida.

Should nursing home residents be injured, or tragically die, because of the negligence of another, they and/or their families are entitled to compensation under Florida law. This compensation may cover such things as:

• Medical Expenses – These include past and future medical expense losses associated with the nursing home injury. Future medical expenses include surgeries, rehabilitation, ongoing therapy, etc.
• Pain and Suffering – This is a non-economic loss and is subjective.
• Disability and Disfigurement – These damages may relate to impairment that prevents victims from engaging in social and personal activities.
• Aggravation of Pre-Existing Conditions – When a pre-existing condition is aggravated, nursing home abuse and neglect victims may recover damages.

Fort Myers Nursing Home Abuse Attorney Randall Spivey of Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. represents people injured in numerous types of personal injury and wrongful death accidents throughout Florida. All the firm’s clients have unique personal injury cases. Attorney Spivey and his legal team provide personal contact and communication along with aggressive representation. Please contact the firm 24/7 at 239.337.7483, toll-free at 1.888.477.4839, or online at SpiveyLaw.com. There are no costs or attorney fees until the firm receives a monetary recovery for its client.