Florida Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer
Choosing a nursing home for elderly family care comes with an implicit duty to ensure their safety and proper care. Unfortunately, if you suspect your loved one is a victim of neglect, consulting a Florida Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer becomes essential. The majority of nursing home residents do not get their necessary care because abuse and neglect cases occur frequently in these facilities.
According to the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), approximately 1 in 10 nursing home residents in the United States experiences some form of abuse or neglect each year. Residents experience improper nursing home care through two channels, which include staff errors in care delivery and patient mistreatment leading to physical harm from careless handling. The law firm of Dennis Hernandez Injury Attorneys supports victims of nursing home abuse and neglect in asserting their legal rights. Since 1993, our team has dedicated itself to making responsible parties pay, and we possess the necessary experience and expertise to defend you effectively.
How Prevalent is Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect?
Placing your trust in a nursing home means expecting the facility to create a protected environment for your loved one. What happens in reality diverges substantially from what one would normally expect. The National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) provides the following information:
- The National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) reports that experts believe abuse cases that go unreported exceed reported cases by at least fourteen.
- A nationwide survey showed that 44% of nursing home residents experienced abuse, while 95% witnessed or suffered from neglect.
- The Ombudsmen at long-term care facilities receive complaints that amount to 7% regarding abuse, exploitation, or neglect.
- The employment statistics show that over half of Certified Nursing Assistants in nursing homes acknowledge that they have verbally abused elderly residents.
How Do I Know If a Loved One Is the Victim of Nursing Home Abuse?
Identifying nursing home abuse proves challenging because it often stays hidden from family members. Nursing home residents who have Alzheimer’s disease or dementia-related conditions find it difficult to communicate effectively. Victims of elder abuse typically choose to remain quiet because they experience shame or embarrassment regarding their victim status. The studies have demonstrated.
The problem can be detected by you through your alertness and your knowledge of relevant warning signs. The different types of abuse in nursing facilities exist in physical, emotional, sexual, and financial forms, yet specific warning signs help identify mistreatment. The following signs indicate abuse may be occurring:
- Dramatic mood swings
- Depression, withdrawal, or isolation
- Uncharacteristic anger or hostility
- Sudden and unexplained weight loss.
- Bruises that are frequent and/or unexplained.
- Signs that restraints have been used on the ankles or wrists.
- Unusual or unexplained medical problems.
- Urinary tract infections or other signs of sexual abuse.
- The prescription medication either disappears or the resident fails to take their medication according to the prescription.
- Money or other personal items are missing.
What Are My Options If I Suspect Abuse in a Nursing Home Facility?
You should begin by sharing your concerns about potential abuse with your loved one when you suspect abuse at their nursing home or long-term care facility. The next point of contact should be the facility administrator if your loved one becomes unresponsive or when it becomes difficult to discuss the matter. The investigation process might lead to a valid solution, yet you should not rely on that outcome.
Multiple facilities choose profits over resident protection, along with legal avoidance strategies. You should consult a nursing home abuse lawyer who has experience in this field as soon as possible. Trust your instincts when you suspect neglect or abuse so you can save your loved one from more suffering.
Recent Staffing and Oversight Changes in U.S. Nursing Homes
CMS created a final rule in April 2024 to require nursing facilities to give 3.48 hours of nursing care to each resident per day, with 0.55 hours provided by registered nurses and 2.45 hours provided by nursing aides and constant RN staffing. The federal court implemented a temporary injunction in April 2025, which generated confusion about the enforcement of this rule throughout the entire nation. The current staffing levels in Florida facilities fall below 75% of the required standards, while the state needs more than 3,800 direct care workers to achieve compliance. (Source: CMS, 2025; Florida Policy Institute)
Florida Nursing Home Negligence and Abuse Lawsuits
A Florida nursing home must provide appropriate care to its residents following state laws. The legal basis for a negligence lawsuit exists when a nursing home resident suffers injury because the facility neglected its responsibilities or failed to meet industry standards.
You can start a lawsuit against nursing homes to hold them accountable for neglect and abuse that leads to resident harm through negligent actions. The following situations can trigger a negligence lawsuit:
The facility and staff members should identify potential risks that include slips and falls and unsanitary conditions, which can lead to infectious diseases spreading throughout the premises. Staff members or management create hazardous conditions on purpose in some situations. Facilities either failed to detect the existing danger or should have detected it but failed to take action.
Failing to keep the premises safe:
The medical facilities that operate as nursing homes need to provide their patients with care levels that follow standard medical protocols. The facility bears responsibility for issues such as medication mistakes or pressure sore prevention through resident turning and proper injury or illness treatment when their care does not meet expected standards.
Negligent Hiring:
Nursing homes must hire qualified staff members who have no history of abuse or violence, since it is their legal duty. The hiring process of new staff members without proper background checks results in patient danger, so the nursing home bears responsibility for negligence.
Inadequate Training:
Lack of proper training about disabled or disobedient resident care among nursing home staff members often results in substandard treatment. Patient injuries become the responsibility of the nursing home when staff members receive inadequate training.
Understaffing:
The older staffing ratio provided one staff member for 1.64 residents, while CMS now requires nursing facilities to offer at least 3.48 nursing care hours per resident per day. Florida facilities operate below this standard, so they face increased dangers of neglecting their patients. Many facilities need additional staff because their patients require extensive care. Nursing home patient neglect occurs because not enough caregivers are present to provide care, while staff members experience excessive workloads due to understaffing. The nursing home maintains liability for all patient injuries that stem from inadequate staffing numbers.
Third-Party Responsibility:
Facilities must take full responsibility for accidents that happen to third parties who visit their premises. The nursing home maintains legal responsibility for patient injuries when they do not establish proper security measures to prevent such incidents.
You require an attorney who specializes in nursing home abuse cases to assist you after your family member gets harmed through negligent or abusive nursing home treatment. The attorneys at Dennis Hernandez Injury attorneys maintain both experience and comprehension to protect your rights while securing maximum compensation from responsible parties.
Seek Legal Assistance from a Seasoned Florida Nursing Home Abuse Attorney
You should immediately contact the Florida nursing home abuse attorneys at Dennis Hernandez Injury Attorneys to assess your legal standing regarding nursing home abuse. We will protect you along your loved one from harm while pursuing legal action against those who caused the abuse.
Our legal team will seek all possible settlement options outside court, yet we will fight every case to its conclusion. The trial experience of our team enables us to fight for both justice and the compensation that you need. Throughout your legal journey, you will receive complete support as a client of Dennis Hernandez Injury Attorney.
Call us at 855-LAW-DENNIS or fill in the FREE CASE EVALUATION form on our website to get started on your case.
Sources:
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
National Center on Elder Abuse.
