Nursing homes are a growing business across the United States. Our aging population makes nursing homes fill up almost as quickly as they are built. South Florida, especially Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties, and the Treasure Coast all have a significant number of nursing homes to support the aging population. We also have a lot of related living and medical facilities, like assisted living facilities (ALFs) and rehabilitation hospitals (Rehab facility).
There are a few common problems that we see repeated across almost all nursing homes, ALFs and Rehabs. The most common problem is pressure sores, also called bedsores. These difficult-to-treat sores are really preventable injuries. They are easy to cascade from a small injury into an infected mess. Bedsore can drive a person right out of recovery and into a debilitated state. Bedsores are the result of putting pressure on an area of the body for so long that it develops into a sore. Proper care can avoid these terrible problems. When a nursing home resident gets a sore, it is often easy for a competent nursing home negligence lawyer to prove the injury came from terrible care.
Another problem endemic to nursing homes is residents who are not in their right state of mind walking out of the home without supervision and then getting hurt. The term for this situation is called “Eloping.” Proper care at a nursing home includes keeping track and protecting aged residents who are confused or mentally incapable of self-care from leaving the home. The best care includes using new technologies to put trackable devices on these aged residents. Then if the resident tries to leave an alarm will sound and the staff can lead the resident back to safety.
Because our state attracts so many aged individuals we have a strong set of consumer laws to protect our aging population. Florida Statute 400.022 is the full list of Nursing Home Resident Consumer Rights. Statute 400.0023 sets out a cause of action (that means a right to sue) for anyone who has had their rights violated as a nursing home resident. There are many rights listed in the statute. Basic human rights are included. Nursing home residents must be provided the right to religious freedom, the right to see loved ones, and including the right to be protected from being injured by the negligence of the nursing home or its employees.
While these cases can be costly to bring against the Assisted Living Facility (ALF), Nursing Home, or Rehab facility, our office handles them on a contingency fees basis. This means we cover paying for you all the upfront costs of bringing the case. Plus our fee is never due until we make money for you!
