Nursing Home Neglect & Abuse Lawyer in Miami

Florida has the highest concentration of skilled nursing facilities and assisted living facilities of any state in the country, and Miami-Dade County alone is home to dozens of them. The vast majority of South Florida's nursing home staff care deeply about their residents — but chronic understaffing, undertrained caregivers, and corporate cost-cutting put residents at serious risk every day. Pressure injuries (bedsores), unwitnessed falls, untreated infections, dehydration, malnutrition, medication errors, and physical and sexual abuse are reported in Florida nursing homes every year. If your loved one has suffered any of these in a Miami-area facility, a Florida nursing home lawyer can help you hold the facility accountable.

Florida's Resident's Bill of Rights

Florida Statute § 400.022 sets out a detailed Resident's Bill of Rights that every nursing home in the state is required to honor. Among other protections, residents have the right to:

• Receive adequate and appropriate health care consistent with established and recognized practice standards
• Be free from mental and physical abuse, corporal punishment, extended involuntary seclusion, and physical and chemical restraints used for purposes other than treatment
• Privacy in treatment and personal care
• Participate in their own care planning
• Receive notice before being transferred or discharged
• Present grievances without fear of retaliation
• Have visitors at any reasonable hour

A facility's violation of any of these rights can support a civil claim for damages under Chapter 400 and can also trigger administrative penalties from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA).

Pre-Suit Notice Required Under Chapter 400

Like medical malpractice cases, nursing home claims in Florida are subject to a special pre-suit notice procedure. Under Florida Statute § 400.0233, before filing a lawsuit, the claimant must serve the prospective defendants with a written notice of intent to initiate litigation, accompanied by a verified affidavit from a qualified expert stating that there are reasonable grounds for the claim. The defendants then have 75 days to investigate, conduct informal discovery, and accept, reject, or offer to arbitrate the claim. Lawsuits filed without complying with this procedure are subject to dismissal.

Common Forms of Nursing Home Neglect in Miami

• Pressure injuries (bedsores). Almost always preventable with regular repositioning, proper nutrition and hydration, and pressure-relieving mattresses. Stage III and IV bedsores are red-flag indicators of neglect.
• Falls. Failure to assess fall risk, failure to update fall-prevention plans, broken or missing bed alarms, lack of supervision in known wandering patients.
• Infections. Untreated UTIs that progress to sepsis, infected feeding tubes, infected pressure wounds, COVID-19 outbreaks tied to infection-control failures.
• Dehydration and malnutrition. Particularly dangerous in residents with dementia who cannot advocate for themselves.
• Medication errors. Wrong drug, wrong dose, missed doses, dangerous interactions, misuse of antipsychotics as chemical restraints.
• Elopement. A cognitively impaired resident leaves the facility undetected — sometimes with tragic consequences in Florida heat or near traffic.
• Physical, sexual, and financial abuse. By staff, by other residents, or by visitors who should never have been allowed unsupervised access.
• Failure to summon emergency care when a resident's condition deteriorates.

Statute of Limitations

For nursing home neglect claims arising on or after March 24, 2023, Florida's statute of limitations is two years from the date the cause of action accrued. In wrongful-death cases, the two-year period runs from the date of death. The clock can be tolled or extended in cases involving a resident with dementia or other cognitive impairment, but you should never rely on tolling — the safe practice is to consult a lawyer as soon as you suspect neglect.

Investigating a Florida Nursing Home Case

The single most important piece of evidence in a nursing home case is the resident's complete medical chart from the facility — including nursing notes, MAR (medication administration records), wound-care logs, fall-risk assessments, care plans, ADL flow sheets, and the chain-of-command incident reports. We obtain the full chart immediately, before it can be edited or "supplemented." We also pull the AHCA inspection history, the federal CMS Five-Star ratings and survey deficiencies, and the facility's staffing records. In serious cases we engage a geriatric nurse expert, a wound-care specialist, and (in fall and elopement cases) a long-term care administrator to evaluate the standard of care.

If your parent, grandparent, or other loved one has been seriously hurt or has died in a Miami-area nursing home or assisted living facility, the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin can help. We accept these cases on a contingency basis and advance all costs of investigation and expert testimony. Call 786-522-1411 or email [email protected] for a free, confidential consultation.