As nursing home abuse lawyers, we encounter the inherent unfairness of the nursing home system on a daily basis. A system which turns a blind eye to the victims of abuse. A system which is more concerned with protecting the owners of nursing homes, and their pocketbooks, instead of protecting human life. We have written prior blogs in order to educate the public of the importance of nursing home abuse attorneys. Many people incorrectly assume that the State will properly monitor nursing homes, but nothing could be further from the truth.
An article published in USA Today, which can be read at https://www.naplesnews.com/in-depth/news/special-reports/2018/12/12/florida-nursing-homes-escape-penalty-despite-staff-causing-patient-deaths/1892783002/ outlines the failure of our State agencies to protect innocent victims from nursing home abuse. An 81-year-old whose infection shown on blood work was ignored until her head was extremely swollen and she died, a man who could not breathe and died needlessly after he had to text his daughter in another state to call 911, and an 84-year-old Jacksonville man who died from rotting genitals are just a few examples cited in the article. The statistics are simply shocking – for instance, in nearly 2/3 of the cases of wrongful death due to negligence, there was no evidence that the State agency investigated the deaths or the nursing home’s role. The agency even admitted in the article that the response to the deaths was inadequate. This article exemplifies the need in our community for attorneys willing to fight back for these innocent victims.
Our job as nursing home abuse attorneys is an integral part of the system as we must force the facilities to provide proper care. As this article makes clear, if we do not protect these vulnerable citizens, no one else will.
This blog is written by Firm Partner Joe Landy.
