Florida Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

A Vietnam War veteran was bitten more than 100 times all over his body by ants while laying in his bed suffering from cancer in a nursing home on the campus of an Atlanta Veteran Affairs hospital just days before he passed away.

The Air Force veteran’s daughter was visiting him at the Eagle’s Nest Community Living Center, a nursing home for veterans on the Atlanta VA Medical Center campus, where he was being treated for cancer, when she noticed her father’s hands were swollen and his body was covered with red bumps.

The woman said she alerted a medical center staffer to her father’s new ailments. The staff allegedly told the woman that they thought the man was dead because the ants were all over him. 

The man died just days later.

The Atlanta VA Hospital released a statement in response to the man’s case describing the actions they had taken including stripping all the bedrooms and inspecting them for ants, removing all open food containers, hiring a pest control company to do an inspection and purchasing plastic containers for the resident’s snacks.

“The Atlanta VA Health Care System leadership team has been notified that ants were found in our Community Living Center and impacting patients. CLC staff immediately cared for the Veterans and took action to ensure no other CLC residents were impacted. We would like to express our heartfelt remorse and apology to the Veterans’ families and have reached out to them to offer appropriate assistance,” the statement read.

After the incident, the woman said that the health center workers bathed her father and cleaned his room, but the next day, the ants came back. He was then moved to a new room where he would later die, according to reports. 

“Atlanta VA Health Care System always strives to provide Veterans with the very best health care available. When we don’t meet that standard, we hold ourselves accountable. That’s why we have initiated a fact finding on the nursing and environmental care processes to ensure we are providing safe and effective care,” the Atlanta VA Hospital statement concluded.

An infestation of any kind (ants, bed bugs, lice, cockroaches, rats, etc.) is a very strong indicator that a nursing home or assisted living facility is not taking the proper steps to make sure that their facility is clean and free from pests and contagious parasites. Moreover, this is a sign that the nursing home or assisted living facility is falling below the standard of care that they are required to provide to their residents. If your loved one is the victim of an insect infestation in a nursing home or assisted living facility, our Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys at Whittel & Melton urge you to speak with us as soon as possible. 

Nursing home abuse or neglect is a serious issue that affects thousands of residents. Indications of nursing home abuse or neglect include:

• Malnutrition and dehydration
• Bedsores and pressure ulcers
• Soiled clothing or bedding
• Generally unsanitary conditions

If you have a loved one who is living under poor conditions in a nursing home, you need to take immediate action. When neglect or abuse is prolonged, serious and fatal consequences are possible. 

The best way to prevent nursing home abuse and neglect is by visiting your loved one on a regular basis. Frequent visits will help you become familiar with the daily conditions of the facility. You will also get to know the staff and gain a better understanding of day to day operations. The more involved you become, the lower the chances of injury or death to your loved one. 

We understand that it is not possible to spend every moment in the presence of our loved ones, which is why many people turn to trusting medical professionals to care for their elderly family members in the first place. When nursing homes or assisted living facilities fail to provide the standard of care your loved one deserves, you may be entitled to take legal action. Our Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys at Whittel & Melton are here to review your case completely free of charge and help you determine the best way to proceed.

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Arrests are expected Monday in the case of a Florida nursing home where 12 elderly patients died after it lost power during a 2017 hurricane, according to reports.

Three nurses and an administrator are apparently being charged. The charges are unknown at this time, but they will likely be some form of manslaughter.

Police have been investigating the deaths for nearly two years but no charges have been filed. 

Patients began dying at the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills days after the hurricane. Investigators say the center did not evacuate patients as temperatures inside rose, even though a fully functional hospital was across the street. The home’s license was suspended days after the storm and it later shuttered.

On Wednesday, September 13th paramedics were called to see to patients in distress at the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills. Firefighters went throughout the entire nursing home facility and found three people dead. Emergency responders then evacuated more than 150 patients to hospitals, many on stretchers or in wheelchairs. By Wednesday afternoon, five more residents had died. The nursing home sits across the street from Memorial Regional Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in Florida, which did not lose power during the entire storm. Regardless, other than a couple residents, the facility did not evacuate any residents until residents began to perish starting early in the morning of September 13th. 

Paramedics from Hollywood Fire-Rescue testified last year that they are haunted by the deaths of 12 patients. A Fire Lt. said one of the female victims had a temperature of 107.5 degrees (42 Celsius), the highest she had ever seen in her 12-year career. Later that morning, another patient topped that with a temperature that was so high it couldn’t be measured, she said.

The case made national headlines and sparked political backlash. Months after the deaths, lawmakers passed a bill requiring backup power sources in Florida nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The legislation require the facilities to have a generator capable of keeping nursing homes and assisted living facilities at 81 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) or lower for at least four days.

Our Florida Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse Attorneys at Whittel & Melton are passionate about helping families of wrongful death victims hold nursing homes accountable for their actions. When we take a nursing home negligence case, we will do whatever it takes to help family members obtain maximum compensation for their loss. If you have lost a loved one and believe that negligence or abuse may be to blame, we urge you to get in touch with us so that we can hold the nursing home responsible and win you the compensation you deserve.

Sadly, residents suffer these conditions as a direct result of receiving inadequate or improper care. Whether this is the result of a singular incident (such as losing power and suffering from sweltering temperatures) or deficient care over an extended period of time (as with malnutrition or dehydration), negligence on the part of nursing home staff members can easily lead to fatal medical conditions that with proper care should have been avoided.

It is important to note that even when conditions are not fatal, the elderly residents of nursing homes are still at an increased risk for contracting other life-threatening conditions and diseases. Severe injuries from falls and serious illnesses like untreated bed sores can all leave elderly residents in a weakened physical and emotional state. This makes them much more susceptible to being unable to fight off other illnesses and infections, and ultimately could result in them losing their life. When nurses and other nursing home staff members are unable or unwilling to provide details on how your loved one died, this can be a warning sign that negligence or abuse was a factor. You have every right to question the cause of your loved one’s death, and if the answers are hard to come by then you could have a valid wrongful death claim against the nursing home. 

Our lawyers can help you get the answers you are looking for, and if it appears that you have a claim, we will do whatever we can to make sure your are fully compensated for your losses.

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More than a year ago, a new state law went into effect requiring nursing homes and assisted living centers to have emergency power plans, backup generators and enough fuel in place to run those generators for four days.

A News 6 investigation has uncovered modifications to the law that are allowing facilities to keep smaller amounts of fuel onsite in case of an emergency.

According to a spokesperson for the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, the rules state all facilities must have a plan to acquire a minimum of 96 hours of fuel in the event of an emergency situation, but they do not have to have that much on site.

The rules now state a nursing home must store a minimum of 72 hours of fuel onsite.

As for assisted living facilities, a facility with a licensed capacity of 16 beds or fewer must store 48 hours of fuel on site whereas a facility with a licensed capacity of 17 or more beds must store 72 hours of fuel onsite.

In November 2017 when ACHA and DOEA filed new proposed rules with the Department of State to create permanent nursing home and ALF rules. In December 2017, these rules were sent to the Legislature for ratification. Manderfield states the emergency rules were then extended/renewed while the two agencies awaited ratification by the Legislature, and both rules were ratified by the Legislature and approved by the governor on March 26, 2018 . 

The new emergency power plan law went into effect after Hurricane Irma, when a dozen nursing home residents died in Hollywood Hills.

The nursing home they were staying in lost power for days following the September 2017 storm, creating hot temperatures and dangerous conditions inside the facility.

But despite the urgency presented by then-Gov. Rick Scott, who demanded the creation of safer conditions for the state’s most vulnerable residents, News 6 has found that there are some Central Florida facilities that still do not have backup generators or other crucial power equipment in place, despite having more than a year to do so.

News 6 visited three of the more than 3,000 assisted living facilities currently licensed in the state to see which ones had their emergency power plans and equipment in place. Only one of them did: Alabama Oaks of Winter Park.

In April, News 6 visited Oasis National Assisted Living Facility in Apopka and was shown the facility’s written emergency power plan and new generator that was recently installed in the backyard. But the staff admitted they were still waiting for a transfer switch to go in. Recent calls to check if the transfer switch has been installed have gone unanswered.

That same month, News 6 also checked with the administrator at Excellence Senior Living in Orlando, who confirmed the 185-bed facility was still missing the permanent backup generator administrators had ordered, but has been approved for an extension. So that means even though the generator is not in place, the facility is not violating state law.

According to AHCA, 100% of the state’s nursing homes and almost 98% of the state’s assisted living facilities are in compliance with the new state law, but that just means they submitted an emergency power plan or extension, not that they have all the equipment in place. Some facilities have even received two or more extensions.

According to Florida law, there is no limit regarding variance requests or duration. The agency is evaluating extension requests on a case-by-case basis to ensure appropriate timelines for compliance and safety measures are in place. 

There are currently 248 nursing homes and 2,328 assisted living facilities that have reported fully implemented generators.

The plan implementation and verification at facilities is ongoing, with 284 surveyors making onsite visits and inspections across the state.

As facilities implement their power plan initiatives, their information can be found on FloridaHealthFinder.gov.

According to News 6, Orange County’s Office of Emergency Management and the agency confirms it has approved plans for 82 assisted living facilities in its jurisdiction, and requested 11 ALFs to resubmit their plans. A county spokesperson confirms six ALFs have not submitted plans and the agency has notified AHCA. Orange County Emergency Management personnel are required to approve the emergency power plans, but the submission of approval letter to AHCA is the responsibility of the provider.

It is up to the state to confirm facilities are following their plan and AHCA is ultimately responsible for licensing the facilities. 

So, what can you do to make sure your loved one is safe and that their facility has a plan and proper equipment in place?

• Visit the facility in person unannounced. 
• Ask to see the emergency power plan booklet; it should be in an easy-to-access location.
• Ask to see where the generator and fuel source are stored.
• Ask staff if they have been trained on the power plans and how to use the equipment.
• Check the AHCA website for a list of nursing homes in which facilities have been approved for an extension or multiple extensions.

A good facility will have no problem providing family members with their emergency plan and power plan safety measures. If you run across a facility that does, that is a big red flag that something is askew. 

Nursing homes and assisted living facilities are legally obligated to properly care for every patient/resident in their care 24/7. This means that even during a hurricane they must provide appropriate medical care. If the facility is not prepared for severe weather like a hurricane or tropical storm, residents can suffer serious personal injuries and even wrongful death. Any residents or family members of loved ones who have suffered injuries in a nursing home or assisted living facility have the right to take legal action against a facility who acted negligently by not being prepared. Our Florida Nursing Home Negligence Attorneys at Whittel & Melton can investigate the nursing home or assisted living facility in question to determine if they are liable for any wrongful actions.

We are happy to help injured nursing home and assisted living facility residents, as well as surviving family members, recover financial compensation to cover damages such as medical expenses, therapy, rehabilitative care, and even wrongful death expenses. We will first launch an investigation into the nursing home or assisted living facility’s policies and practices to determine if negligence caused a resident to suffer harm. Once we conclude our investigation we can possibly take further action through a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. 

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