Articles Posted in Nursing home abuse

Florida nursing home facilities and medical professionals have a responsibility to provide competent care to all residents in the facility. Unfortunately, this does not always happen. A shocking number of nursing home residents are victims of neglect and abuse. If your loved one has been hurt while in the care of a nursing home, our skilled Miami nursing home negligence attorneys can help. For years, we have helped South Florida clients recover the compensation they need in their personal injury cases, and we can help you as well.

In April of 2012, a woman fell while in the care of a nursing home facility in Pensacola, causing a blood vessel to rupture and blood to start collecting in parts of her brain. Shortly thereafter, the woman lost her life. In 2013, the woman’s children sued the nursing home’s parent company and it’s management company. The lawsuit alleged that the nursing home had failed to follow its own care plan in an effort to prevent the woman from falling. Almost 6 years afterwards, a jury concluded that the fall killed the woman, In addition they jury also found that the nursing home was negligent in its care; specifically, in allowing the fall to happen in the first place. As such, the woman’s children were given an award of $200,000.

Between the time the lawsuit was filed and the jury’s decision, the parent company has been sold and is now operated by an entirely different company. One of the woman’s children has passed away. The management company exited the personal injury suit by direct verdict — an equivalent of a dismissal — due to a lack of evidence which directly connected its operations within the facility to the woman’s fall. As such, if there is no appeal, the nursing home’s parent company is the only party obligated to compensate the woman’s surviving children.

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The unfortunate reality is that nursing home negligence injures a number of people in Florida and across the United States each year. If you or someone close to you has been injured due to a nursing home’s negligence, we can help. At the Law Offices, our Miami nursing home negligence attorneys can assess the merits of your case and determine the viability of your claim. We understand that this is a sensitive issue, which is why you can expect the utmost compassion from us throughout the entire legal process.

Sadly, elders often fail to receive the care they need and deserve. In fact, the American Association of Justice reports that only one in 14 nursing home abuse cases are reported to the proper authorities, and over 90 percent of nursing homes do not have enough staff to look after their residents properly.

A Florida appellate court recently issued an opinion regarding a wrongful death claim filed by a woman whose husband died in a nursing home facility. The case asked the court to figure out the validity of an arbitration clause in a contract that was signed by the nursing home resident’s wife before he was admitted into the facility. An arbitration clause is a clause in a contract that requires the parties to resolve their disputes through an arbitration process.

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Falls are the leading cause of injuries to the elderly. While a fracture or broken bone may seem like a relatively minor injury, the reality is that these injuries can have a significant impact on an elder’s ability to perform basic day-to-day tasks. If you have suffered a broken bone or fracture in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence at a nursing home, we can help. At the Law Offices of Robert Dixon, our Miami nursing home negligence attorneys can scrutinize the facts of your case and help you pursue the compensation you deserve for your harm.

A fracture refers to a broken bone. It can be a thin crack to a complete break. A bone can be fractured in just one place or in many places. A fracture can occur on almost any bone in the body. A fracture can happen in one place or in multiple places on the same bone. A simple fracture occurs when the bone breaks but does not pierce the skin, whereas a compound fracture takes place when the bone breaks and pierces through the skin. For seniors at a nursing home, fractures can have devastating consequences. Particularly for adults who are 65 years old and older, fractures can take months to heal, and, in some cases, they never heal properly.

In nursing homes, fractures are most often results of slip and fall accidents. Unfortunately, many nursing homes do not take adequate measures to make sure their residents are safe from the risk of falls. Lack of proper supervision, poor lighting, and even physical abuse can contribute to a higher risk of falls. As a result, it is imperative that nursing homes take all necessary measures to make sure residents do not face unnecessary risks of falls or injuries.

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If you have a loved one in a nursing home, you expect them to be treated competently and respectfully. Unfortunately, elder home abuse is prevalent. According to an article by the Washington Post, abusive photos and videos of the elderly are increasingly being posted on Snapchat. This is perhaps the last thing one would expect. At the Law Offices of Robert Dixon, our Miami injury attorneys can help you hold negligent nursing homes accountable for the harm they cause.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that approximately 1.4 million people across the United States reside in nursing homes. According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, elder abuse is defined as “intentional actions that cause harm or create a serious risk of harm (whether intended or unintended) to a vulnerable elder by a caregiver or other person who stands in a trust relationship to the elder.” This encompasses the failure of a caregiver to satisfy the elder individual’s basic needs or to protect the elder individual from harm.

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