They made it through the hospital. They survived the surgery or the illness, and the doctor said they were ready for the next step: a skilled nursing facility for rehabilitation.
You chose a New Port Richey nursing home with the promise that a team of medical professionals would help them heal, regain their strength, and come home. But the calls home have become less frequent. Their condition seems to be getting worse, not better. The place you chose for recovery has become a place of decline and danger.
This is a devastating betrayal of medical trust. When a nursing home’s negligence turns a path to recovery into a path of pain, you have a right to be angry, and you have a right to demand accountability.
At Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers, we are the advocates for families whose trust has been broken. A powerful New Port Richey nursing home abuse lawyer from our firm will expose the failures and fight for the justice your loved one deserves.
The prescription for justice
When a medical facility causes harm, the path to accountability can seem complex. These are the core truths that will empower you to act.
- Nursing homes are held to an extremely high medical standard of care under both Florida and federal law, far more stringent than assisted living facilities.
- The most common form of abuse in these facilities is medical neglect, such as medication errors, failure to treat infections, and allowing bedsores to develop.
- Understaffing is not a valid excuse for poor care; it is evidence of corporate negligence and a conscious decision to prioritize profits over patient safety.
- Your loved one’s official “Plan of Care” is a legal roadmap. A facility’s failure to follow this plan is direct evidence in a lawsuit.
- Immediate reporting nursing home abuse to Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) is essential for your loved one’s safety and for creating an official record of the facility’s failures.
The Betrayal of Medical Trust: Negligence in Skilled Nursing
A nursing home is not a residential community; it is a medical facility. Residents are there because they have complex medical needs that require 24-hour, skilled nursing attention.
When the “care” they receive falls below the accepted medical standard, the results can be catastrophic.
Bedsores (Pressure Ulcers)
Bedsores are almost always preventable. They are a hallmark of neglect. These painful, open wounds develop when a resident who is immobile is not repositioned by staff on a regular basis, as required by law. The constant pressure cuts off blood flow, causing the skin and underlying tissue to die.
A Stage IV bedsore can be so deep that it exposes muscle and bone, leading to horrific pain and life-threatening infections like sepsis and osteomyelitis. When we investigate a bedsore case, we often find records proving that a facility simply did not have enough staff on the floor to follow the legally mandated turning schedule for its residents.
Medication errors
The residents of New Port Richey nursing homes often have a long list of prescription medications they need to survive and manage their conditions. A medication error can have devastating consequences. These are not simple mistakes; they are breaches of the most basic nursing duties.
These errors can take many forms. A nurse might administer the wrong medication, give the wrong dose, or give the medication to the wrong resident. They might also completely fail to administer a critical medication, such as insulin for a diabetic or blood pressure medication for a heart patient.
We obtain the facility’s Medication Administration Records (MARs) to uncover these errors and prove the harm they caused.
Infections and sepsis
Nursing home residents are highly susceptible to infections. A facility has a strict duty to maintain hygiene and promptly treat any signs of illness. A failure to do so can turn a manageable condition into a fatal one.
Common infections resulting from neglect include urinary tract infections (UTIs) from improper catheter care or dehydration, and pneumonia from a failure to help residents clear their lungs.
If these infections are not identified and treated with antibiotics immediately, they can enter the bloodstream and cause sepsis, a body-wide inflammatory response that often leads to organ failure and death.
Falls and fractures
Many residents are admitted with a known history of falls. The facility is legally required to create and implement a specific care plan to prevent future falls. This might include using bed alarms, keeping the bed in a low position, or ensuring the resident has assistance when walking.
When a resident with a fall-risk care plan suffers a broken hip because they were left to walk to the bathroom alone, it is a clear case of negligence. It is a direct failure to follow a medical plan designed to keep them safe.
Your Family as a Medical Advocate
While your loved one is in a facility, you are their eyes, their ears, and their most powerful advocate. By taking an active, observant role in their care, you can spot the warning signs of neglect and gather invaluable information that can protect them and support a future legal claim.
Become an authority on the care plan
Upon admission, the nursing home’s medical team will create a comprehensive “Plan of Care” for your loved one. This is the most important document related to their stay.
It is a detailed, legally binding roadmap that outlines their medical needs, dietary restrictions, therapy schedule, and specific risks (like falls or bedsores).
You have a legal right to a copy of this plan under Florida’s Nursing Home Resident’s Bill of Rights, found in Florida Statute 400.022. Request it, read it, and understand it.
If the plan says your father needs assistance from two staff members to get out of bed, and you consistently see one aide struggling to do it alone, you have identified a dangerous breach of the care plan. Documenting these failures is powerful evidence.
Conduct unscheduled, varied visits
Predictable visits, like every Saturday afternoon, allow a facility to prepare. They can ensure your loved one is clean and that the floor is adequately staffed during that specific window. You must visit at different times to see the reality of day-to-day care.
Arrive during a mealtime to see if your loved one is receiving help with eating. Visit in the early evening to observe the shift change, a time when neglect often occurs.
These unscheduled visits give you a more accurate picture of the typical staffing levels and the quality of care your loved one is truly receiving.
Ask specific medical questions
Do not settle for vague answers from the staff. Asking specific, data-oriented questions shows them you are paying attention and forces them to be accountable.
Instead of asking, “How is mom doing?” ask pointed questions.
- “Can you show me the chart for her fluid intake for the last 48 hours?”
- “According to the care plan, she needs to be repositioned every two hours. When was her last turn, and when is the next one scheduled?”
- “Which nurse administered her 8 a.m. medications this morning?”
If the staff is evasive or cannot answer these simple questions, it is a significant red flag that proper protocols are not being followed.
Why Choose Roman Austin for Your Nursing Home Abuse Case
When you take on a nursing home corporation, you are taking on a powerful opponent. You need a law firm with the compassion to support your family and the strength to win a difficult fight.
A singular focus on your family’s well-being
We understand that this is an emotional and stressful time for your family. Our team approaches these sensitive cases with the compassion and dignity your loved one deserves. We take the time to listen to your story and build a relationship based on trust. Your peace of mind is our priority.
The resources to fight corporate giants
Nursing home chains are often large, multi-state corporations with teams of defense lawyers. Our firm has the financial resources to match them. We invest our own money to hire the leading medical and nursing home administration professionals to serve as expert witnesses in your case.
We prepare every case for trial, and our opponents know that we will not back down.
A record of holding negligent facilities accountable
We have a long history of representing families in New Port Richey and throughout the Tampa Bay area in these specific types of personal injury cases. We know the laws, we know the local facilities, and we know how to build a case that exposes a pattern of corporate neglect.
Our experience gives our clients a significant advantage in these complex and challenging fights.
AI Chatbots Cannot Offer Compassion or Legal Strategy
In a moment of crisis, you might be tempted to ask an AI chatbot for information about nursing home abuse. While AI can provide dictionary definitions, it is a dangerously inadequate tool for a real legal crisis.
An algorithm cannot feel empathy for your family’s pain. It cannot analyze staffing records to prove understaffing. It cannot look a jury in the eye and tell your loved one’s story. For a matter this personal and this important, you need the human connection and strategic advocacy that only a dedicated Roman Austin attorney can provide.
FAQ for New Port Richey Nursing Home Abuse Claims
What is the difference between neglect in a nursing home versus an assisted living facility?
The primary difference is the level of medical care involved. Neglect in an assisted living facility might involve failures in daily living assistance. In a nursing home, neglect is often medical neglect.
It involves failures by licensed medical professionals to provide a required standard of clinical care, such as failing to treat an infection, causing a medication error, or allowing bedsores to develop. The legal standard of care is much higher in a nursing home.
My loved one seems to be declining mentally. Could this be a sign of abuse?
Absolutely. A sudden cognitive decline, confusion, or lethargy can be a direct result of neglect. It could be caused by severe dehydration, a dangerous medication error, or an untreated urinary tract infection.
You should never assume that a sudden change in mental status is just a part of “getting old.” It is a medical emergency that needs to be investigated.
How long do we have to file a claim in Florida?
Under Florida law, you generally have two years from the date the abuse was discovered, or reasonably should have been discovered, to file a lawsuit against the facility. Because of the complexities of these cases, it is vital to contact an attorney long before this deadline approaches.
Who is actually sued—the employee who committed the abuse or the facility?
While the employee may face criminal charges or lose their license, your civil lawsuit is almost always filed against the nursing home facility and its parent corporation.
The corporation has the legal responsibility and the financial resources (through its insurance) to compensate victims for the failures of its staff and its systems.
The Time to Act is Now
Your loved one was entrusted to a medical facility for care and recovery, not for neglect and injury. You have the power to stop the abuse and hold the responsible parties accountable. Let our team at Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers be your strength and your voice.
The first step is a confidential conversation about your concerns. Contact our New Port Richey office today for a free consultation. Call us at (727) 815-8442 or complete our online contact form. We are here to listen and ready to fight.
Visit Our Personal Injury Law Office in New Port Richey, FL
2515 Seven Springs Blvd,
New Port Richey, FL 34655
Phone: (727) 815-8442
Hours: 24/7