Florida Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect Lawyer

Protecting families and holding facilities accountable statewide

When you trust a Florida nursing home with your loved one’s care, you expect safety and dignity. Too often, that trust is broken—through neglect, rough handling, or unsafe conditions that lead to bedsores, falls, infections, and even wrongful death. Armando Personal Injury Law investigates abuse and neglect statewide and holds facilities accountable under Florida law.

Common Nursing Home Injuries & Red Flags

Neglect often hides in plain sight. Watch for these issues and act quickly if you notice them:

• Elopement / Wandering: Unsupervised exits from memory-care or “secured” units, leading to injuries or exposure.
• Falls & Fractures: Poor lighting, clutter, missing grab bars, wrong bed/wheelchair height, or lack of staff assistance.
• Bedsores (Pressure Ulcers): Usually preventable with repositioning, nutrition, hygiene—and documenting those steps in the care plan. Advanced stages risk osteomyelitis or sepsis.
• Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs): Especially in catheterized residents; commonly tied to poor hygiene and missed care.
• Dehydration / Malnutrition: Missed basic needs and monitoring—serious red flags (especially if listed on a death certificate).

What To Do Right Now If You Suspect Neglect or Abuse

1. Get outside medical care immediately and follow treatment.
2. Photograph injuries, unsanitary conditions, and soiled clothing/bedding; note dates and names.
3. Report concerns in writing and request a copy of the facility’s incident report; note dates, times, and the staff who responded.
4. File a Florida report (hotline below) and save your confirmation number.
5. Call our Florida nursing home abuse lawyer so we can preserve evidence before it disappears.

Evidence We Preserve in Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Cases

• Charts & logs: nursing notes, wound-care docs, turning/rounding logs, Medication Administration Records (MARs), fall-risk scores, elopement protocols.
• Staffing & supervision: assignment sheets, ratios, timecards, incident and shift reports.
• Video & alerts: hallway/room surveillance video (where available), call-light/alert exports, and documented response times.
• Regulatory history: We collect state inspection reports and prior AHCA citations that show patterns of noncompliance.
• Ownership & policy: corporate ownership filings, training materials, device/policy acknowledgments.

How To Report Nursing Home Abuse in Florida

You can file a report through AHCA (the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration) and the Department of Elder Affairs; we’ll help you reference prior inspection history when it’s relevant.

• Florida Abuse Hotline: 1-800-962-2873 (1-800-96-ABUSE).
• You can also contact the Florida Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program for resident advocacy.

After reporting, keep documenting injuries, conversations, and staff responses. Agency investigations can take weeks; we begin an independent investigation immediately to secure records and footage.

Who Can Be Held Responsible

• Individuals: nurses, aides, and other staff who violate care standards.
• Facilities & Owners: understaffing, unsafe policies, falsified charts, or failure to supervise.
• Vendors/Contractors: security, maintenance, medical equipment issues.

We compare the resident’s care plan against what actually happened—if the plan called for supervision, turning, or fall precautions, we prove where the facility failed. We pursue every liable party to maximize accountability and compensation.

Our Investigation Process (Statewide)

• Preserve evidence immediately: medical charts, wound-care notes, turning/rounding logs, staffing schedules, and surveillance video.
• Interview witnesses & staff: current/former employees, residents, families.
• Analyze compliance & ownership: inspection histories, staffing ratios, corporate structures.
• Consult medical & nursing experts: link care failures to injuries and outcomes.
• Litigate strategically: discovery, depositions, and motions to expose systemic neglect and cover-ups.

Your Rights Under Florida Law

Florida Statutes Chapter 400 requires nursing homes and assisted living facilities to protect residents from abuse, neglect, and exploitation. When they fail, families can pursue compensation through a civil claim. In most cases, you have two years from when the abuse or neglect was discovered—or reasonably should have been discovered—to file. Deadlines can vary based on the facts, so acting quickly helps preserve surveillance video, logs, and witness accounts.

What Damages Can Cover

• Medical care: ER visits, hospitalization, wound care, infection management (e.g., UTIs, sepsis), rehab.
• Non-economic harm: pain, anxiety, loss of dignity, loss of companionship.
• Wrongful death: funeral/burial expenses and damages for surviving family members.

We document current and future care needs so insurers can’t undervalue the claim.

FAQs: Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect in Florida

How common is nursing home abuse in Florida?

Underreporting is significant. Florida’s large senior population and staffing shortages increase the risk of preventable harm—another reason vigilant oversight and legal accountability matter.

What are the most common types of abuse?

Physical abuse, psychological abuse, neglect (bedsores, dehydration, malnutrition), financial exploitation, and sexual abuse. Any of these warrant immediate investigation.

What are warning signs of neglect?

Bedsores, sudden weight loss, dehydration, poor hygiene, unexplained injuries or falls, and behavior changes (fear, withdrawal, anxiety around specific staff) are all warning signs of nursing home neglect.

What if my loved one can’t remember what happened?

We build cases with medical charts, incident reports, staffing logs, and witness accounts—even without direct testimony.

What evidence helps prove abuse or neglect?

Incident/shift reports, security video, photos of injuries/conditions, staffing schedules, medical/wound documentation, and state inspection reports (including prior AHCA citations).

Who investigates these cases in Florida?

Depending on the facts, the Florida Department of Children & Families (DCF) and AHCA may review the facility’s conduct while we run an independent investigation to secure records and testimony.

Should I accept a quick settlement?

Not without legal advice. Early offers are designed to minimize payouts. We evaluate the full harm, including future care, and negotiate from strength.

Should we move to a different facility — will it hurt the case?

Yes, move if safety is a concern. Before transfer, request complete records in writing (charts, MARs, incident logs, care plans) and keep copies. We can coordinate the move and send preservation letters so critical evidence (video, logs) isn’t lost.

Will the facility’s surveillance video be saved?

Not automatically—many systems overwrite surveillance video quickly without a preservation letter being sent by a lawyer.

Does my family member’s passing qualify as a wrongful death case?

If neglect causes a fatal injury or infection, Florida’s wrongful death laws allow the family to pursue damages while we preserve medical records, staffing logs, and video.

Family Action Checklist

• Document injuries and photograph visible wounds/unsafe conditions.
• Request complete medical, wound-care, and incident reports in writing.
• Keep a log of dates, names, and conversations with staff and administrators.
• Report to the Florida Department of Elder Affairs and AHCA.
• Call a Florida nursing home abuse lawyer to safeguard your loved one and your case.
• Ask whether rounding logs were completed that shift and write down the answer.

Standing Up for Families Across Florida

From Tampa and St. Petersburg to Orlando, Miami, and beyond, Armando Personal Injury Law investigates, exposes, and stops neglect. We shoulder the legal burden so your family can focus on healing and peace of mind.

Free consultation. We’ll preserve video and records **immediately** and start the investigation while you focus on your family.

“This practice is extremely ethical, amazingly friendly, and will do anything to help you! Amazing group of people who make you feel like family!” – Kandace K., ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Actual client. Results may vary; each case is different.

About the Author

Attorney Armando Edmiston is the founding attorney of Armando Personal Injury Law in Tampa, Florida, a law firm dedicated to helping people harmed in car, truck, motorcycle, nursing home, and other serious injury cases. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran and personal injury lawyer, Armando draws on his real-world courtroom experience and years of representing injured Floridians to write and carefully review the legal content on this website. Every guide is written in clear, straightforward language so injured people and their families can better understand their rights, and is reviewed for legal accuracy before publication.