South Florida Personal Injury Blog

Unfortunately, Broward County residents are becoming all too familiar with allegations of abuse in nursing homes in south Florida and elsewhere. Although Florida has taken special precautions to protect the elderly, such as heightened sentencing for certain crimes against people over age 65, the problem persists. In fact, Florida has some of the most protective laws in the country regarding the elderly. A Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorney can advise you believe your loved one has been abused or provided with inadequate or improper care in a nursing home.

Recently, the case of a 77-year-old woman who lived in a Florida nursing home was raped by another resident, 83-year-old Ivey Edwards. Although the stereotypical image of nursing home residents may be feeble, Edwards was a known sex offender. Fort Lauderdale families looking for care for their loved ones may inquire about the quality of the medical care and the attentiveness of the staff, but should they also be worried that a nursing home will not adequately screen other residents?

In another newsworthy case, the Florida Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that nursing homes – unlike other health care facilities – do not have to provide patients’ records. The Court determined that the nursing homes were not health care facilities in the sense of doctor’s offices or hospitals. Since the Florida Constitution requires that patients have a “right to know,” or to check their medical records for medical malpractice.

The Florida Supreme Court decision arose out of the death of Marlene Gagnon, whose five children sued a nursing home after her death. The nursing home maintains that Gagnon died of a heart attack, but her children believe that she actually died from choking on coleslaw. Her doctors forbade her from eating that food due to the risk. The nursing home has refused to release their internal incident report on the matter. With the new interpretation of the Florida Constitution, the nursing home does not have to divulge the records. Their Florida personal injury lawyer was critical of the decision, saying, "This strips constitutional rights from the elderly. . .This is just an invitation to more elder abuse." Nonetheless, the Gagnon family’s Florida injury attorney believes that they have obtained enough other relevant documents to prove that Gagnon died from choking rather than a heart attack.

If you or a loved one has suffered in a nursing home or due to a physician’s medical malpractice, contact Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers Andrew Alitowski and William Moore to learn about your options. Although monetary damages cannot erase your experiences, they can defray other expenses and provide a strong disincentive for nursing homes to allow future abuse.