Miami Beach Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 676 certified nursing facilities operated in Florida in 2009, providing a total of nearly 82,000 beds, with an occupancy rate above 87%. Various laws and regulations have been enacted to protect the vulnerable population of nursing home residents, some of whom are completely dependent on their caretakers for even their most basic needs. Laws such as the Florida Nursing Home Residents’ Act are intended to deter or punish nursing home abuse and neglect.

Signs of nursing home abuse or neglect include unexplained bruises or wounds on a nursing home resident’s body, unexplained weight loss, changes in the resident’s personality, and hints that the resident may be afraid of the nursing home staff.

The National Center on Elder Abuse provides a list of hotlines and referral resources for people who suspect elder abuse, including nursing home abuse or neglect in Florida.

Nursing home residents have a variety of rights guaranteed by the federal Nursing Home Reform Act–including the right to receive appropriate medical care, in sanitary surroundings; the right to participate in one’s own care; the right to file complaints without fear of reprisal; the right to privacy and confidentiality, and more. If you are a nursing home resident and believe that your rights are being violated, or if someone you love is a Florida nursing home resident and you suspect that your loved one is being abused or neglected, you should contact an experienced Florida personal injury attorney right away. With the attorney’s help, you should be able to put an end to the abuse or neglect, and seek compensation for the person who suffered it.

In cases that involve flagrant misconduct on the part of the nursing home, the nursing home may also be forced to pay punitive damages–an additional sum intended to function as a fine and a deterrent of future abuse and neglect.

Based in Miami Beach, Florida, Esquenazi Law focuses exclusively on protecting the interests of injury victims, such as nursing home residents injured by nursing home abuse or neglect. If you or someone you love has been a victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, please contact us today.

We offer a free confidential consultation, and we don’t get paid unless we obtain compensation for our clients.