| There is a crisis of great proportion in Florida, which if
allowed to go unchecked will shut down Florida's nursing homes within two years. Florida
nursing homes are under full attack by Florida's greedy trial lawyers who are not being
motivated by a sense of aggrieved loss, or concentrating on the chronically poor
facilities. Just look at their ads. They are preying on fear and guilt while intimating
that there is an easy legal lottery with money to be made if you have the misfortune of
having a loved one in a nursing home.
Because it is now easier and more profitable to sue nursing homes, you find more
seminars offered to lawyers that teach them how to sue a nursing home. Even the state's
best nursing homes that for years were never sued, have been inundated with suits during
the last two years. A recent publication by the Florida Association of Homes for the Aging
spells out the results of the latest trial bar lottery:
- A Florida nursing home is three times more likely to be sued than a nursing home in
another state.
- Over 40% of the non-profit community of faith-based nursing homes have lawsuits pending
against them. Settlements range from $2,500 to $750,000. Most of these facilities have
excellent regulatory track records and broad-based community support.
- Florida accounts for 10% of the total U.S. nursing home beds, but 40% of the nation's
losses are due to the number of claims occurring in Florida.
- The average annual long term care general and professional liability cost per occupied
bed in the state of Florida is eight times the average cost for the rest of the country.
- 1998 lawsuit losses in Florida averaged $2,602 per bed, compared to $519 per bed for the
rest of the nation.
- The average claim in Florida in 1999 was $278,637, compared to $112,351 for the rest of
the nation.
- Liability insurance rates have skyrocketed, resulting in only three insurers willing to
provide reinsurance coverage to nursing homes in Florida. The average increase this year
for non-profit facilities was 177%, with deductibles ranging from $50,000 to $250,000 per
claim. One nursing home's premium increased from $40,000 to $665,000. Premiums for three
other faith-based nursing homes owned by the same organization escalated to $1.7 million
from $159,000.
- There is no correlation between deficiencies and lawsuits; even deficiency free homes
are being sued.
- The impact of the lawsuits has been catastrophic. Some non-profits are using
philanthropic dollars that would have been spent on care to pay the premiums and are
worried about future ability to cover the high deductibles and further increases in
premiums. The lawsuits and negative advertisements by lawyers have also affected staff
morale and the ability of nursing homes to attract and retain good nursing personnel.
At a meeting I recently attended, one nursing home announced that they are maxed out
and going to go bare — realizing that it may mean handing the keys to their facility
over to the trial lawyers. Another faith-based nursing home is planning to ask the State
of Florida to just come and get the keys to their several nursing homes, and they will
simply walk away.
When will our nation ever reach the point of telling the legal community — either
you reform the American judicial system so it is again fair and honorable, or we the
people will do it for you.
June, 2000/ Jacksonville Medicine
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