When a loved one enters a nursing home, you trust the staff and physicians to keep them safe, prevent falls, and treat wounds like bedsores before they become life-threatening. Yet too often, understaffed facilities and underqualified caregivers fail to provide even basic medical care. Residents suffer injuries and complications that could have been avoided with proper attention.
If your loved one was harmed because nursing staff or doctors ignored clear risks or failed to respond to an injury, you have the right to hold them accountable. A Fort Lauderdale nursing home abuse and neglect lawyer from Anidjar & Levine can help you pursue justice. Our team has the resources and medical insight these complex cases demand, and we know how to uncover the truth behind substandard care.
When medical errors rise to negligence, a Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer can fight for the compensation your family deserves. Call now for a free consultation.
Let Our Fort Lauderdale Team Take Care of You and Your Loved One
When your family is coping with a preventable nursing home injury due to medical malpractice, you shouldn’t have to fight alone. At Anidjar & Levine, our mission is simple — to put people first and help you take back control of your life after serious harm caused by substandard medical care.
Founded in 2005, our firm has grown by focusing on service and accessibility. We know how overwhelming a nursing home malpractice case can feel, especially when a loved one has suffered from preventable falls, infected bedsores, or other medical mistakes. Our Fort Lauderdale nursing home abuse lawyers handle the complex legal process so you can focus on healing and family.
We go beyond traditional legal work. Our team can help coordinate medical appointments, arrange transportation when needed, and keep you updated every step of the way. Clients receive their attorney’s cell phone number and regular case updates — so you never feel left in the dark.
Because these cases require both legal and medical insight, we work with independent physicians, wound care nurses, and other experts to document what went wrong and why it matters. Our goal is to hold negligent facilities and providers accountable while easing as many of the burdens on you as possible.
What Counts as Medical Malpractice in a Nursing Home?
Many people think of nursing home abuse and neglect as staff being rough or inattentive. But when injuries happen because medical standards of care are ignored, the issue becomes medical malpractice. Nursing homes are health care settings, and they employ doctors, nurses, and other licensed professionals who must follow accepted medical practices when assessing and treating residents.
Two of the clearest examples are falls and pressure ulcers (bedsores), but other failures can also be malpractice. These include, but are not limited to:
- Medication mistakes, such as giving the patient thewrong drug or dose, or failing to monitor side effects
- Untreated infections that lead to sepsis,
- Severe dehydration or malnutrition,
- Delayed diagnosis of conditions like strokes or heart attacks
Proving malpractice requires showing that the nursing home’s medical team — whether nurses, physicians, or administrators — failed to meet professional standards and that harm followed. This usually means analyzing records, policies, and expert testimony to reveal where care broke down.
If your loved one suffered a serious, preventable injury, a Fort Lauderdale nursing home abuse and neglect lawyer with medical negligence experience can help you determine whether malpractice caused their harm.
Why Falls and Bedsores are Usually Preventable
Most serious injuries in nursing homes are not random accidents — they’re the result of skipped safety checks and inadequate staffing. Falls and bedsores are prime examples. Both can often be avoided when nursing homes follow basic medical and nursing standards of care.
For falls, residents should be evaluated for risk as soon as they arrive and whenever their health changes. This means checking mobility, medications that cause dizziness, and cognitive status. With the right plan — such as using assistive devices, keeping call lights within reach, and supervising transfers — most falls can be prevented. When staff ignore these steps or leave vulnerable residents unattended, broken bones, brain bleeds, and long-term disability can result.
Bedsores develop when fragile skin isn’t protected. Residents who cannot move easily need to be repositioned every few hours, have their skin checked regularly, and get proper nutrition and hydration to keep tissue healthy. Support surfaces, moisture control, and wound care protocols are critical. When facilities are understaffed or rely on minimally trained caregivers, these protections break down, leading to deep wounds, infection, and sometimes sepsis.
These injuries aren’t just painful — they signal a serious breakdown in medical care. When a nursing home’s own risk assessments and care plans aren’t followed, families may have a valid malpractice claim. A Fort Lauderdale medical malpractice lawyer experienced in nursing home injuries can review what went wrong and help you pursue accountability.
Common Failures We See in Nursing Home Medical Care
Behind most serious injuries in long-term care facilities is not just one careless act but a pattern of safety breakdowns. Understanding these failures helps explain why falls, bedsores, and other harm happen — and why they often amount to medical malpractice.
Assessment Breakdowns
Many residents never receive proper fall-risk or skin assessments when admitted or after a health change. Tools like mobility evaluations or Braden skin scoring may be skipped, filled out incompletely, or ignored when updating care plans.
Monitoring Gaps
Even when risk is documented, staff may fail to follow through. Call lights can go unanswered, bed alarms disabled, and residents left in the same position for hours. Understaffed wings and rotating agency nurses mean no one consistently watches for changes.
Delayed or Improper Treatment
After a fall or early-stage bedsore, residents should get a prompt medical evaluation. Instead, staff sometimes downplay injuries, delay notifying a doctor, or provide only minimal wound care. These delays can allow fractures to worsen or sores to progress to dangerous infections.
Poor Documentation And Cover-Ups
Incident reports may be vague or altered, charting copy-pasted, and the family kept uninformed. Missing or inconsistent records can hide dangerous care gaps.
Systemic Understaffing
Too few licensed nurses and overreliance on minimally trained aides make it impossible to provide required assessments, repositioning, or timely response. Corporate staffing decisions frequently put profits before patient safety.
When these patterns appear in your loved one’s care, it’s a strong indicator that malpractice may have occurred. A Fort Lauderdale nursing home abuse and neglect lawyer can uncover documentation, staffing records, and expert analysis to prove how the system failed.
If you’re ready to discuss your case, our lawyers will help you understand your options and move forward. Call now to get started with your free consultation.
Who Can Be Held Liable in Nursing Home Malpractice Cases?
When a nursing home resident is harmed because proper medical care was not provided, responsibility may extend beyond the individual caregiver. These cases often involve several potential defendants, and identifying them correctly is critical to proving negligence.
Nursing Home Facility and Corporate Owners
Many long-term care facilities are owned by large corporations that make staffing and policy decisions. When chronic understaffing or poor training contributes to falls, bedsores, or other medical harm, the parent company can be held accountable.
On-Site Physicians and Advanced Practice Providers
Doctors, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants are expected to oversee residents’ health, respond to changing conditions, and direct appropriate care. Failing to order wound consults, imaging, or hospital transfers after a fall may constitute malpractice.
Nursing Staff and Agencies
Registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and certified nursing assistants provide day-to-day care. When they skip assessments, ignore alarms, or delay reporting changes, they can share liability. Staffing agencies that supply unqualified personnel may also face responsibility.
Third-Party Medical Vendors
Some facilities outsource wound care, rehabilitation, or pharmacy services. These contractors can be liable when substandard care contributes to injury.
A knowledgeable Fort Lauderdale nursing home abuse and neglect lawyer can trace each decision-maker involved, analyze records, and determine where medical and corporate failures occurred. By pursuing every responsible party, families improve their chances of securing fair compensation and preventing future harm.
How We Build a Nursing Home Malpractice Case
Proving that a nursing home’s substandard care caused serious harm takes more than pointing to an injury. A nursing home abuse lawyer in Fort Lauderdale builds the case step by step, using medical and legal tools to reveal what really happened.
Collecting and Analyzing Records
Every case begins with securing the resident’s full medical chart — not just nursing notes but risk assessments, physician orders, care plans, wound documentation, and incident reports. Staffing schedules, call-light logs, and corporate policies can show whether the facility followed accepted standards.
Working With Medical Experts
We may consult independent physicians, wound care specialists, and nurses who understand the level of attention and intervention that should have been provided. Their opinions help prove when an injury was preventable and how the failure worsened the outcome.
Linking Breach to Harm
It’s not enough to show a mistake; we must prove that the failure directly caused the injury. For example, connecting missed turning schedules to a severe bedsore or demonstrating how delayed evaluation after a fall led to a brain bleed.
Anticipating Defenses
Facilities often claim injuries were “unavoidable” or due to the resident’s underlying health. Detailed timelines, witness accounts, and expert reviews help counter these arguments.
By approaching evidence methodically, a Fort Lauderdale nursing home abuse attorney can transform complex medical events into a clear narrative of negligence — one that stands up in settlement negotiations or in court.
Compensation and Recoverable Damages in Nursing Home Malpractice Cases
When a nursing home’s medical failures cause harm, the impact on residents and families goes far beyond the initial injury. Treatment is often lengthy and expensive. Loved ones may lose independence or require permanent care. Some families face the unimaginable — a wrongful death. Our Fort Lauderdale nursing home abuse and neglect lawyer can pursue full and fair compensation for these losses.
Medical Care and Related Expenses
Severe falls, infected bedsores, and other injuries frequently lead to hospital stays, surgeries, wound care, and rehabilitation. Compensation can include:
- Emergency transport and hospitalization
- Surgeries or specialized wound procedures
- Long-term antibiotics or IV therapies for infections
- Physical or occupational therapy to restore function
- Medical equipment such as wheelchairs or special beds
- Ongoing care if the resident can’t return to prior independence
Pain, Suffering, and Loss of Quality of Life
These cases are about more than bills. Residents often endure significant pain, reduced mobility, and loss of dignity. Emotional harm — fear, isolation, depression — is also compensable. Families may see a loved one lose the ability to engage socially or enjoy meaningful activities.
Financial and Practical Losses
When residents or families pay out-of-pocket for transportation to medical appointments, hire private caregivers, or lose income caring for an injured loved one, those costs can be included.
Wrongful Death Damages
Losing a loved one because of negligent medical care in a nursing home is devastating. No family expects a facility meant to provide safety and treatment to become the place where life is cut short. When this happens, families can bring a wrongful death claim to seek accountability and help cover the losses that follow. Damages can include:
- Final medical bills and hospice care
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Loss of companionship, guidance, and support
- Emotional suffering of surviving spouses and children
Because every case is unique, assessing the full scope of damages requires a careful review of medical records, bills, and the resident’s life before the injury. A wrongful death lawyer in Fort Lauderdale can assemble that picture and demand accountability from all responsible parties.
Protect Your Right to Hold the Facility Accountable
Taking legal action for nursing home medical malpractice is time-sensitive. Florida law sets strict filing deadlines and special steps before a lawsuit can begin. Understanding these rules helps protect your right to hold a facility accountable.
- Nursing Home Abuse or Neglect: UnderFlorida Statutes § 400.0236, families generally have two years from the date the injury is discovered — or should have been discovered — to bring a claim.
- Medical Malpractice: If the injury involves medical providers such as doctors or nurses, Florida Statutes § 95.11 also applies, giving two years from discovery, but no more than four years total from the date of the incident (known as a statute of repose).
- Wrongful Death: If the resident passes away, a wrongful death claim must also be filed within two years.
Because injuries in nursing homes can take time to uncover, these timelines can be confusing. A lawyer can help determine which deadlines apply and when the clock starts ticking.
Mandatory Pre-Suit Investigation
Florida requires a pre–suit notice of intent before filing a medical malpractice or nursing home claim. This involves:
- Sending each potential defendant a notice of intent describing the claim.
- A 90–day investigation period, during which the facility and providers review the allegations and can request records or interviews.
- Expert review, which is a sworn statement from a qualified medical expert, is usually required to support the claim.
Skipping or mishandling these steps can lead to dismissal, so professional legal help is important.
Facilities may move or alter records, staff can change jobs, and memories fade. Early involvement by a nursing home abuse lawyer in Fort Lauderdale helps preserve critical evidence and keep your case on track.
What to Do if You Suspect Negligent Care
When you notice signs that a nursing home may be providing unsafe or substandard medical care, it’s natural to feel uncertain about what to do next. Acting quickly can protect your loved one and preserve important evidence for a future claim.
Make Sure Your Loved One is Safe
If your loved one’s condition seems urgent, call 911 or have them transferred to an emergency department. Getting prompt medical attention is the first priority.
If the danger is serious but not immediately life-threatening, consider transferring the resident to another facility or hospital after consulting with their doctor.
Document What You See
Good documentation can make a powerful difference later. Memories fade and records can be incomplete or even inaccurate, but your own notes and photos can help prove what happened. Start gathering information as soon as you suspect something is wrong:
- Take clear, date-stamped photos of injuries or unsafe conditions (bedrails, call lights out of reach, soiled bedding, bruises, wounds).
- Note dates, times, and staff names when you observe neglect or poor treatment.
- Keep a log of communications with the facility — who you spoke to and what they said.
- Save medical paperwork like discharge summaries, prescriptions, wound care notes, and incident reports.
Report Your Concerns
If you suspect that a nursing home is providing unsafe or substandard care, there are several agencies in Florida that can help protect residents and create an official record:
- Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) Adult Protective Services: You can call the 24/7 hotline or file a report online through their official portal if you believe a resident is being neglected or abused.
- Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA): This agency oversees nursing home licensing and complaints. Reports can be submitted by phone or through AHCA’s online complaint form.
- Long–Term Care Ombudsman Program: Advocates for nursing home residents and can assist in addressing concerns. Contact them by phone or through their website to report issues or request guidance.
Filing a report can help stop ongoing neglect and establish documentation if legal action becomes necessary. Always include as much detail as possible about the situation, including dates, times, and observed injuries or unsafe conditions.
Request Records
You have the right to request your loved one’s medical chart and billing statements. Florida law generally requires nursing homes to provide records within 14 to 30 working days of a written request, depending on the status of the patient as a current or former resident. Early access to these documents can help confirm what care was (or was not) provided.
Consult a Lawyer Early
A nursing home abuse lawyer in Fort Lauderdale from our firm can review your documentation, preserve additional evidence, and handle communication with the facility and insurers. Acting quickly also helps meet Florida’s deadlines and pre-suit requirements. Our team is conveniently located just outside of Downtown Fort Lauderdale at:
300 SE 17th St
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
Checklist for Families Visiting Loved Ones
Regular visits are one of the most effective ways to protect your family member and catch early warning signs of unsafe or negligent medical care. By paying attention to key details, you can spot problems before they become emergencies and build a record if something goes wrong.
Physical Health and Comfort
Start with your loved one’s overall appearance and comfort. A quick check can reveal whether staff are following care plans and preventing harm:
- Skin checks: Look for redness, open sores, or bandages — especially on heels, tailbone, hips, and shoulders.
- Mobility: Ask if your loved one is being helped to walk or repositioned in bed. Watch for stiffness or pain when moving.
- Weight and hydration: Notice sudden weight loss, dry mouth, or signs of dehydration.
- Hygiene: Clothes and bedding should be clean; hair, nails, and teeth should be cared for.
Environment and Safety
The surrounding environment can show whether the facility is safe and well-staffed. As you look around the room and hallways, ask yourself:
- Call lights and alarms: Make sure call buttons are working and within reach.
- Clutter and trip hazards: Floors should be clear, lighting adequate, and mobility aids available.
- Room temperature and bedding: Should be comfortable and appropriate.
Staff and Communication
Pay attention to how staff interact with residents and visitors. Their attitude and transparency often reflect the quality of care:
- Responsiveness: Note how quickly staff respond to needs or questions.
- Attitude and respect: Watch for courtesy, patience, and clear communication.
- Updates: Ask staff about care plans, recent changes in health, or any falls or skin issues.
If you see concerning changes — new wounds, sudden confusion, unexplained bruises, or poor response from staff — act quickly. Document what you observe, and consider contacting a Fort Lauderdale nursing home abuse and neglect lawyer from our firm to help protect your loved one.
Take the Next Step Toward Protecting Your Loved One
If your family member suffered harm in a nursing home, you do not have to face the system alone. Anidjar & Levine can guide you through the legal process and help you take back control of your life. Our Fort Lauderdale nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers handle the complex investigation, deadlines, and communication with facilities and insurers so you can focus on caring for your loved one.
Your first consultation is free, and there are no attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation for you. Call us today to get started. Responsive legal help is just one conversation away.
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