Although you might expect excellent around-the-clock care, many nursing homes in Florida continue to be understaffed and negligent. Whether neglecting or abusing residents, these nursing homes betray the trust of family members who move a loved one into the facility. If you want to sue a nursing home for violating your loved one’s rights, you should realize that an arbitration agreement might stand in your way.

What are Arbitration Agreements?

Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution that has increased in popularity over the past decade. Instead of presenting your case to a judge, you present it to an arbitrator (or a panel of three arbitrators) who act like judges but are often lawyers or former judges. The arbitration panel will decide who wins the case. There are some advantages to arbitration which help explain why it has become so popular:

• The rules can be streamlined, making arbitration faster and less expensive than litigation in court. Nursing homes are always looking to save money, and arbitration can save on legal fees.

• Arbitration is private, so the public cannot find out embarrassing facts about either side. This helps shield the nursing home’s reputation, but it can also benefit a resident who has suffered humiliating abuse.

Arbitration, however, has some serious disadvantages as well, particularly for residents:

• You typically do not have the right to an appeal. Whatever the arbitrator decides is final.
• Large companies often use the same arbitrators over and over, and some people think they are biased in favor of these corporate defendants.

When placing a loved one in a nursing home, you probably signed a contract. One clause might have been an agreement to arbitrate any disputes that arise. Judges enforce these clauses, so any court case you file will be removed to arbitration whether you want to go there or not.

How Can You Get Out of Arbitration?

For a variety of reasons, you might not want to arbitrate a dispute but instead wish to proceed in court. However, to get out of a validly-signed agreement, you will need to assert some contract defense. For example, you might argue:

• You signed the contract under duress.
• The agreement is fraudulent, or fraud was used to induce your signature.
• The arbitration agreement is unconscionable.

These are hard defenses to prove. The fact that you now don’t want to arbitrate does not mean that the agreement is invalid. Instead, you will need high-quality evidence that casts doubt that signing the arbitration agreement was voluntary.

At Bundza & Rodriguez in Daytona Beach, we have extensive experience bringing lawsuits against nursing home and long-term care facilities for abuse and neglect. We are happy to discuss your options, including whether you need to arbitrate. Please schedule your free consultation by calling 386-252-5170 today.

Resource:

naplesnews.com/story/news/special-reports/2018/02/22/neglected-florida-worst-nursing-homes-left-open-despite-history-poor-care-deaths/315924002/

In Florida’s nursing homes, abuse and neglect are all-too-common problems. To hold a nursing home legally accountable, you should consider filing a lawsuit against the facility for the injuries your loved one has suffered.

Signs of Abuse or Neglect

Rarely will a nursing home admit that one of its staff has abused or neglected a loved one. Also, many of our elder family members can no longer communicate, suffering from dementia or another ailment. Even when family members can talk, they might be so afraid of staff that they withdraw, refusing to say more than a few words to you.

Nevertheless, nursing home abuse and neglect have common red flags you should be aware of, such as:

• Injuries without any explanation or conflicting explanations
• Unsanitary conditions (dirty floors or bathrooms)
• Lack of grooming or bathing
• Dramatic weight loss
• Sudden illnesses without any adequate explanation

If you notice these, you should follow up with staff. There might be an innocent explanation. However, many injuries occur because an elderly ward wandered off unattended and fell, or aggressive residents attacked your loved one.

Report Abuse to the State

Concerned family members can report suspected nursing home abuse to the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). You can submit a complaint form at their website, or you can call toll-free 888-419-3456. After receiving your complaint, AHCA will review it to determine whether they have authority to investigate and whether they find it sufficiently serious to look into. After an investigation, you will be notified of the results.

Seeking Justice

Although abuse and neglect are rampant in Florida’s nursing homes, the state rarely intervenes in any meaningful way. In fact, according to a story in the Naples Daily News, some of the state’s nursing homes have been implicated in the deaths of several residents and have committed hundreds of violations. Yet, the state refuses to shut them down. Since 2013, over 50 nursing homes received notification for more than 100 violations.

Because of this lack of regulatory muscle, nursing homes have few incentives for improving the care they offer. One way to force change, however, is to hit the nursing homes where it hurts: in the pocketbook.

An injured resident might be able to bring a lawsuit against the nursing home for negligent care or for assault and battery, depending on the circumstances. If they prevail, then they can receive compensation for medical care to fix their injury as well as for emotional distress and for pain and suffering. After losing a lawsuit, a nursing home might be more motivated to make improve the supervision and hiring of their staff.

Speak with a Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer in Volusia County

Elderly loved ones are easy targets of abuse or neglect, but they do not have to suffer alone. At Bundza & Rodriguez in Daytona Beach, we have gone up against some of the state’s most powerful nursing homes, and we know how to get compensation for your loved one. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation.

Resources:

apps.ahca.myflorida.com/hcfc/

naplesnews.com/story/news/special-reports/2018/02/22/neglected-florida-worst-nursing-homes-left-open-despite-history-poor-care-deaths/315924002/

Reasons for Overmedication

On average, nursing home residents take seven different medicines a month, so screw ups can occur if nursing home staff is disorganized or improperly trained. Unfortunately, nursing home staff isn’t eager to acknowledge mistakes—if they are even aware of them. The next time you visit your loved one, look for the following signs that they are being overmedicated:

• Sleepiness and fatigue
• Confusion
• Unexplained changes in behavior
• Agitation
• Refusal to talk or see family members
• Unexplained injuries, such as bruises or broken bones

These changes might have innocent explanations, but you need to investigate further nonetheless. Ask to speak to a nursing home supervisor and request your loved one’s Medication Order sheet. Review the information to see if your loved one is being given more medication than a doctor has prescribed.

Chemical Restraint

Not all overmedication is accidental. One type of overmedication deserves special mention—the use of drugs as a form of chemical restraint. In order to deal with unruly residents, some nursing homes will give residents antipsychotic drugs, even when the resident has not been prescribed any by a physician. These drugs put residents in a stupor which makes them easier to handle.

Overmedication using antipsychotic drugs has been a problem for years. A 2010 report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid found that 17% of residents received more antipsychotic drugs than were prescribed. A separate study found that a whopping 71% of Medicaid residents in Florida were receiving antipsychotic drugs, even though few were taking the drugs before admission. Although overuse of antipsychotics has receded somewhat in recent years, it still remains a problem.

Concerned family members should review the Medication Order sheet and ask why a drug has been given if it doesn’t look familiar. Common antipsychotic drugs include Risperdal, Seroquel, Zyprexa, Abilify, Symbyax, and Geodon.

Holding the Nursing Home Accountable

The state of Florida might need to investigate abusive nursing homes and bring criminal sanctions. However, your loved one can also hold the nursing home accountable by suing for personal injuries as a result of overmedication. For example, they might be able to sue for the following:

• Negligence. If staff overmedicate because they are careless, this carelessness might qualify as negligence.

• Battery. When nursing home staff intentionally overmedicate your loved one without permission, they have committed battery.

• Negligent hiring. The nursing home might be responsible if they hired staff without performing necessary background checks.

• Negligent supervision. The nursing home might be careless in how it oversees its facility. If so, they might be legally responsible for your loved one’s injuries.

If your loved one succeeds in their lawsuit, they can receive financial compensation for:

• Reimbursement of medical expenses to help treat the overmedication and any other injury, such as broken bones.

• Reimbursement of rehabilitation costs.

• Compensation for your loved one’s physical pain and suffering as well as mental anguish.

• Punitive damages, if the nursing home’s conduct was intentional or reckless.

Speak with a Daytona Beach Nursing Home Attorney

When nursing homes betray our trust, they should be held legally responsible for the injuries they cause. Injured residents and their families do not need to suffer in silence. Contact Bundza & Rodriguez for a free consultation today.

Resources:

mdmag.com/conference-coverage/aafp_2010/how-many-pills-do-your-elderly-patients-take-each-day

newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/11/study-nursing-home-residents-overmedicated-undertreated/

cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Press-Releases/2013-Press-Releases-Items/2013-08-27.html

Approved and Experimental Uses of Nuedexta

The original purpose of Nuedexta, and the only use for which is currently has official approval, is as a treatment for pseudobulbar affect (PBA). PBA is not a disease in itself, but rather a symptom that sometimes occurs as a result of other neurological illnesses or injuries. PBA consists of prolonged episodes of laughing or crying when there is no direct stimulus that would cause this behavior. Most often diagnosed in elderly patients, it is usually the result of a stroke or traumatic brain injury, or else a symptom of a neurological disease such as multiple sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Some doctors also prescribe Nuedexta to treat the behavioral symptoms of dementia, whether the dementia is related to Alzheimer’s disease or another cause. Several years ago, Avanir, the company that makes the drug, announced trials to test the suitably of Nuedexta in treating behavioral problems stemming from Alzheimer’s disease. The results of those trials, if they were completed, do not seem to be available, making PBA the only uncontroversial use of Nuedexta.

Risks to Nursing Home Patients

One of the side effects of Nuedexta is that it can interfere with patients’ balance, putting them at increased risk of falling. For patients with PBA, it is worthwhile to take this risk, as the drug is one of the best treatments for such a debilitating symptom. When Nuedexta is being prescribed simply to reduce aggression or agitation in patients with dementia, it is less clear that the benefits outweigh the risks. Nursing home patients are at a high risk for falls, and Nuedexta can double that risk. Florida standards for nursing home care do not permit nursing homes to give patients unnecessary medications. They are required only to prescribe medicine in ways that will benefit patients, not simply in ways that will make patients cause less trouble.

Contact Bundza & Rodriguez About Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

If you suspect that your loved one is being mistreated in a nursing home, act now to stop the abuse before it continues. Contact Bundza & Rodriguez in Daytona Beach, Florida for a legal consultation.

Resources:

cw33.com/2017/10/13/pill-used-to-treat-pba-in-elderly-being-overprescribed-in-nursing-homes/

flrules.org/gateway/ChapterHome.asp?Chapter=59A-4