Some of the most powerful evidence in a nursing home abuse lawsuit can be video or audio of the abuse actually occurring.
This is most often obtained by family members or sometimes residents who install hidden cameras. Sometimes they are looking to affirm suspicions. Sometimes they want proof of what they already know.
But rarely is the incriminating footage captured by the perpetrators. Continue reading →
Most states, including Florida, have established a list of rights to which nursing home residents are entitled. Violation of these provisions may result in state or federal sanctions or the right of the resident and/or surviving family member to pursue civil action against the facility or staffers.
For example, F.S. 400.022 states residents have the right to be treated with dignity, respect and fairness, be free from any form of abuse, receive necessary services to maintain and preserve health and well-being, receive written and oral information regarding medical care and nursing services and maintain private communication with family members and loved ones. These are just a few of the rights outlined in the statute.
A similar law exists in California, where the recent case of Lemaire v. Covenant Care Cal., LLC was reviewed by the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Six. In that state, each violation of the statute entitles a plaintiff to receive $500. And based on that statute, a plaintiff suing for the wrongful death of her mother at a nursing home facility (due to what she alleged was inadequate care), received $1.1 million, which included $270,000 in statutory damage.
An elderly resident at a Florida nursing home received double his daily medication for a full year before anyone discovered the mistake. This error is egregious in itself, but the greater problem is it’s not an isolated incident throughout the state – and it puts vulnerable patients at grave risk of serious harm.
A recent report by the Daytona News-Journal indicated the same nursing home that wrongly doubled the patient’s prescription had been cited twice before for previous medication errors – including for a time accidentally switching two patient’s pills. In the last three years, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services revealed nearly 45 percent of nursing homes in Florida have been cited for deficiencies that were either directly or indirectly related to medication mistakes.
Brian Lee, director of consumer watchdog group Families for Better Care, said the problem is far too common, and both patients and families have a right to accountability in these matters.
Florida Nursing Home Lawyer Blog