Article Updated: March 2, 2022
Florida Nursing Home Abuse Settlements
I’ve vetted nearly two dozen nursing home abuse cases from Florida, with the great majority of them involving bedsores.
Given the prevalence of nursing home abuse in Florida and the volume of potential clients who reach out from Florida, I decided to conduct additional research and write this article on Florida nursing home abuse settlements, including bedsore settlements in Florida.
I hope you benefit from this legal research. If you have questions after reviewing my research, you are invited to message me for a free chat to ask any questions.
Clickable Table of Contents
Florida Bedsore Topics
1 – Florida Bedsore Malpractice Laws
2 – Florida Bedsore Data
3 – Bedsore Settlement Florida: Sample Cases
4 – Florida Bedsore Settlement Outlooks
Resources
5 – Supporting Literature, Citations & Research
6 – About the Author
7 – Legal Help in Maryland & Nationally
Florida Bedsore Malpractice Laws
Bedsore settlements in Florida were a common occurrence because the laws were on your side to help ensure the safety of you and your loved ones.
You will however need help to achieve a fair bedsore settlement in Florida because rarely if ever does the nursing home admit guilt. Rather, they try and deflect the accountability to avoid any settlements.
However, just because the nursing home feels it is not their fault, does not mean they are absolved of liability.
Florida Malpractice Laws
Florida has specific laws and standards to help protect you and your loved ones. These laws ensure and demand minimum levels of care including legally requiring patients who are bedridden to be turned frequently throughout the day.
This means that turning patients to avoid bedsores is not a matter of preference in care, but a legal expectation on the part of the nursing homes.
Nursing Homes Shifting Blame
If you need to bring a bedsore settlement to court, the nursing home may often try and argue that the sores were unavoidable and this should absolve them of liability. The defense is that no amount of moving the patient would have been able to avoid the sores.
This argument is beyond the point of the laws in Florida regarding bedsores and medical malpractice. No matter what their personal opinions, the staff and medical providers of a nursing home have a legal obligation to turn and reposition patients who are bedridden throughout the day.
Bedsore Negligence in Florida
When the nursing home fails in its duty, they are negligent regardless of whether the bedsores were avoidable or unavoidable.
Evidence shows that most Florida acquired bedsores are in fact preventable with basic care. Even in cases that later on are found to be avoidable, the nursing home is still negligent in their duties if they do not follow care for patients as the law requires.
Indeed, the legal standard in Florida for medical malpractice is the medical provider’s breach in the duty of care. On this issue of bedsores, that duty concerns turning and repositioning.
When you are able to prove this negligence against a nursing home, you are entitled to a malpractice settlement, whether you are in Florida, California, or anywhere else in the country.
Florida Bedsore Data
Bedsore settlements in Florida occur frequently, which makes sense given the fact that there are over 70,000 people in nursing homes in Florida and on average each nursing home has anywhere from 5%-17% of its population of high risk of serious bedsores.
Florida nursing home abuse settlements are therefore occurring frequently because every year long-term residents of nursing homes, to the tune of nearly 10,000 people, are at risk of serious bedsore conditions.
This is even more concerning when it becomes evident that of the 5-17% who have or at high risk of bedsores, nearly 10% will have a high chance of dying.
Even getting medical care for the bedsore is not enough. In as many as 1/3 of the cases those who are hospitalized for bedsores end up dying from their injuries.
Of those who die in Florida every year from bedsores, it is important to remember that not all are always in long-term care or very elderly.
In many cases, those who are in their 40s-60s who are only receiving short-term care recovering from surgery also develop bedsores and serious complications due to poor care.
Bedsore Settlement Florida: Sample Cases
Substantial bedsore settlement in Florida for national company
$14,000,000.00 (Florida): A bedsore settlement case in Florida came about after a woman was placed in a nursing home following surgery. She was meant to only be in the nursing home for a short period of time so that she could receive rehabilitative care and then go back to her home with her children who would continue to care for her. However, while in the care of the nursing home, the patient died as a result of poor care which led to serious ulcers that became so badly infected that the her condition became irreversible. The lack of care led to the patients death and the family bringing suit to the large nursing home chain. The patient was left unmoved for so long that it led to the ulcers to necrose and the patients muscles to shrivel up. This Florida nursing home abuse settlement was ultimately against one of the nations largest private for profit chain of nursing homes with locations in 22 states, including Florida.
Bedsore settlement in Florida for bilateral heel ulcers
$485,000.00 (Florida): A resident at a nursing home developed bedsores both on his heels and on his lower back/ coccyx which became infected after there was no effort made to treat the condition. The infection was a serious MRSA infection which needed intensive medication and despite efforts to help the patient once the problems were found, the patient passed away. The family contended that the nursing home had failed to change the patients position every 2 hours which led to the bedsores and infection which caused his death which were direct against specific Florida statutes.
Bedsore settlement in Florida for wrongful death caused by ulcer wounds
$650,000.00 (Florida): A wrongful death case was brought against a nursing home after a patient developed serious ulcers on his coccyx because of lack of proper care. The plaintiff was not moved every 2 hours which led to deep ulcerations that developed necrotic tissue. The deceased family stated that the nursing home underfunded and understaffed intentionally and this led to the slow discovery of the ulcers on the patients body which had gotten so bad it extended from the lower back all the way to the lower thigh. The nursing home stated that they had followed proper care and they denied liability. Ultimately, the two sides came to a settlement between the nursing home and the 6 surviving children of the deceased.
Florida Bedsore Settlement Outlooks
Bedsore settlements in Florida do not have a good outlook right now due to Florida’s harshly written COVID immunity laws.
As of the date this article was written and updated, many lawyers would agree that, for the time being, negligent medical providers and nursing homes have a free pass if they cause a bedsore.
This means that a bedsore settlement in Florida is highly unlikely until that law changes.
This is a horrible injustice, I am watching the situation closely, and remain hopeful that law changes so justice can again prevail with proper settlements in Florida for bedsore victims.
Warmly,
Reza Davani, Esq.
State Bar No.: #1212110211
Federal Bar No.: #30168
Cellphone: (301) 922-4598
Email: reza@nursinghometruth.com
Pressure Ulcer Legal Library
Click/Tap Icons to Access Articles
Supporting Literature, Citations & Resources:
Bennett, D. (2012). Elder abuse and death claims. Clinical Risk, 18(5), 194-196.
Jehle, C. C., Hartnett, D., Snapp, W. K., & Schmidt, S. (2019). Assessment of Malpractice Claims Associated With Pressure Ulcers. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery–Global Open, 7(8S-1), 90.
Fife, C. E. A Closer Look at the Legal Implications of Pressure Injuries.
Cabin, W., Himmelstein, D. U., Siman, M. L., & Woolhandler, S. (2014). For-profit Medicare home health agencies’ costs appear higher and quality appears lower compared to nonprofit agencies. Health Affairs, 33(8), 1460-1465.
Williams, P. (2001). Crescendo: Failure, Settlement and Death. In Philip II (pp. 228-252). Palgrave, London.
Oguz, N. Y., Miles, S. H., Buken, N., & Civaner, M. (2003). End-of-life care in Turkey. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 12(3), 279-284.
Gosfield, A. G., & Reinertsen, J. L. (2008). Avoiding quality fraud. Trustee, 61(8), 12.
Jenkins, R. C., & Lemak, C. H. (2007). Innovative teaching for health law: a case study of a hospital medical malpractice lawsuit simulation. The Journal of health administration education, 24(1).
Statista Residents Certified Nursing Facilities
Long Term Care Community Coalition
Christian N Kirman, MD; Chief Editor: John Geibel, MD, MSc, DSc, AGAF (2020). What is the mortality rate for pressure injuries (pressure ulcers)?
About the Author
This nursing home and medical malpractice article was written by Baltimore, Maryland nursing home attorney Reza Davani, Esquire. Mr. Davani received his Juris Doctor degree from a Tier 1 law school, the University of Maryland Francs King Carey School of Law. He received his first license to practice law from the State of Maryland’s Court of Appeals (MD State License No. 1212110211), and just four months later received a federal law license from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland (Federal License No. 30168).
Mr. Davani has been practicing law for over 10 years. He began practicing law by helping clients as a sanctioned student lawyer before receiving his law license, and second chaired his first jury trial in federal court before even graduating law school. He is a registered member of the Maryland Association for Justice (MAJ), the American Bar Association (ABA), the American Association for Justice (AAJ), and was formerly on the MAJ’s Legislative Leader’s Circle.
Mr. Davani has taken over 20 cases to trial in state and federal court, and favorably settled well over 100 cases for injured victims. He has personally helped his clients recover over $15,000,000 in personal injury, medical malpractice, and nursing home abuse settlements and verdicts in Maryland and other states. He is dedicated to fighting for justice, and welcomes the opportunity to help you.
Bedsore Lawyer Near You
I can help you anywhere in Maryland, including Allegany County, Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Carroll County, Calvert County, Caroline County, Cecil County, Charles County, Dorchester County, Frederick County, Garrett County, Harford County, Howard County, Kent County, Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, Queen Anne’s County, Somerset County, St. Mary’s County, Talbot County, Washington County, Wicomico County, and Worcester County.
I have helped clients in over a dozen jurisdictions, including California, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Washington, and Virginia.
I help injured victims nationwide in all 50 states on a case-by-case basis via Pro Hac Vice.
