attorney for nursing home residents

Published on: January 3, 2018

Florida Lawmakers Push for Nursing Home Reform

When older adults get to the point when it becomes impractical to remain in the home, or the same happens to younger people with serious medical conditions, a nursing home may be the best option. When we take our loved ones to a nursing home, we expect they will be well-cared for by professionals and given the dignity and respect they deserve.

Unfortunately, this is not always the case in nursing homes that are sometimes more interested in making money than properly caring for residents who are in much need of care. According to a recent news article from the Sun Sentinel, lawmakers are not happy with current regulations following some highly-published deaths that occurred following hurricane Irma. Many urge more must be done to protect Florida nursing home residents, not only in times of crisis, but year-round. Continue reading →

Published on: June 24, 2017

Elder Abuse Cases in South Florida

By Dean Freeman

When a loved one is injured in an accident and can no longer take care of himself or herself, or that person gets to an age where they need more medical care than the family can provide at home, a nursing home is probably the only option. While this is often a tough decision, we hope that our loved one will be well cared for, as that is the point of going to a nursing home in the first place.

Unfortunately, that is not always the case, and some nursing home residents are the victims of negligent care, and in some cases, intentional abuse by staff, management, or other residents. When this happens to someone you care for, you find out what rights the victim has and what legal recourse may be available. Continue reading →

Published on: May 29, 2017

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Nursing Home Arbitration Agreement

By Dean Freeman

According to a recent article from Modern Healthcare, the U.S. Supreme Court has just ruled that nursing home party to a case could enforce its arbitration agreement on two families who had loved ones living in the nursing home facility.

This was a 7-1 decision. While there are now nine justices on the Supreme Court, Justice Gorsuch was not on the court when the case was initially heard and did not participate in the opinion. The only justice who did not agree with the ruling was Justice Thomas. Based upon previous decisions on the federal act in question, many legal scholars expected this to be the court’s holding in this matter. Continue reading →

Published on: January 5, 2015

Report: Nursing Homes Not Accountable for Oversedation

By Dean Freeman

There have been many success stories when it comes to use of antipsychotic drugs for those wrestling with serious mental disorders, such as schizophrenia or manic depression.

However, when those same medications are given to older patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or other various forms of dementia, the outcome can be fatal. In fact, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration has slapped these pharmaceuticals with a black box warning, noting the heightened risk of infections, heart failure and even death. And still, there are hundreds of thousands of nursing homes that continue to use them on elderly dementia patients.

Two years ago, the federal government initiated an effort to push these facilities to slash their use of antispychotic drugs for this purpose. In most places, the campaign has been relatively effective, with use dropping below 20 percent. However, new research indicates that when nursing homes ignore the potential health risks, there are few sanctions or consequence.

Continue reading →