Miami and Tampa nursing home negligence lawyer
Pressure sores do not happen overnight.
Florida gives nursing home residents a set of statutory rights, and a claim for violating them is its own cause of action rather than ordinary negligence. These cases are proved out of the facility’s own charting — which is why what the records do not say matters as much as what they do.
- Residents’ rights
- Ch. 400Statutory rights, enforceable by the resident
- Before filing
- Presuit noticeThese claims carry their own notice requirement
- Deadline to sue
- 2 yearsFla. Stat. § 95.11, for claims accruing on or after 24 March 2023
- Where to check
- AHCAState inspection and complaint history for the facility
01 What the records show
02 Who brings it
03 Where these cases come from
Miami-Dade
Miami-Dade has one of the largest concentrations of skilled nursing and assisted living facilities in the state, serving a heavily Spanish-speaking resident population where families frequently cannot read the admission paperwork they are handed.
Hillsborough
Hillsborough and the surrounding counties carry a large older population and a correspondingly dense network of facilities, with the same staffing pressures and the same documentary trail.
04 What damages a claim
- Signing admission paperwork without reading the arbitration clause.
- Allowing the facility to move the resident before anyone photographs the injury.
- Not requesting the complete chart in writing, including nursing notes and MARs.
- Accepting an explanation that a pressure sore was unavoidable without an independent review.
Frequently asked questions about Florida nursing home negligence
We signed an arbitration agreement. Is the claim over?
Not necessarily. Who signed, whether they had legal authority to bind the resident, and whether the agreement was properly presented are all live questions.
Arbitration clauses in admission packets are often signed by a relative with no power of attorney, which matters.
The facility says the fall was unavoidable. Is that a defense?
It can be, and some falls genuinely are. The question is what the facility’s own assessment said about the resident’s fall risk and whether the care plan it generated was actually followed.
That answer is in the chart, which is why obtaining the complete record early matters so much.
Tell Jose what happened
A free review of your nursing home negligence case, with no obligation, and no fee and no costs unless there is a recovery. English or Spanish, whichever you would rather use. You speak with Jose A. Dapena directly at every stage, not with an intake department — and if there is no claim worth bringing, he will tell you that.