Covid Nursing Home Injury Attorneys
Seek Compensation With Our Tampa Nursing Home Injury Accident Law Firm
In Tampa, nursing home populations are at the highest risk of being infected by COVID-19. Typically, these long-term care facilities serve older or disabled adults, with underlying medical conditions, which makes them particularly vulnerable to serious illness and death. To protect elderly residents and health care worker alike, the Florida Department of Health has set forth guidelines facilities should follow to improve their preparedness for responding to the coronavirus outbreak in 2019 (COVID-19).
In Florida, the percentage of deaths directly related to long-term care centers has been steadily increasing over the past several months. Outbreaks have devastated nursing home facilities in almost every corner of the state from Pensacola to Miami. Some of the deadliest have occurred right here in Tampa Bay. Today, at least 43 percent of all deaths in the Sunshine State are due to covid nursing home injury deaths – with over 1,000 lives needlessly lost.
Have you or someone you love developed coronavirus in a long-term care facility or suffered a Tampa Covid nursing home injury? Attorneys at the Fernandez Firm Accident Injury Attorneys have been helping families of personal injury victims for years. If you are considering hiring a covid injury lawyer to investigate your case — whether it involve a resident or an employee —, below are some of the many reasons we believe that our Firm is the best choice.
Why Choose The Fernandez Firm Accident Injury Attorneys?
WE DON’T GET PAID UNLESS WE WIN … and WE WANT TO WIN!
Our lawyers have won over $100 Million dollars in jury verdicts and settlements for our clients. It cost you nothing to hire our experienced trial attorneys, and our legal consultations are free. Unlike some law firms, we work on a “contingent fee basis, which simply means that our fees are only due if we successfully recover money for you. So if you have questions regarding a coronavirus injury suffered by a resident or health care worker at a nursing home or long-term care facility, our experienced team of professionals are always available to assist you.
OVER 25 YEARS EXPERIENCE HELPING INJURED CLIENTS.
When you hire a law firm to handle your Tampa coronavirus nursing home injury claim, it is important you select attorneys who have stood up and fought the nursing home industry and won. For over 25 years, we represented residents and workers who have been injured or tragically died due to poor management and nursing home negligence. We will fight for your rights and we are committed to protecting families throughout Tampa Bay.
THOUSANDS OF SATISFIED FORMER CLIENTS.
Clearly the best indicator of our commitment to provide quality legal service to everyone we represent are the many online reviews and video testimonials of our former clients. Our goal is to provide injured clients with exceptional, hands-on legal representation while securing the highest recovery available for each case. Please read our Google Reviews and take a look at our video testimonials to see what our clients say.
AWARD WINNING & NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED TRIAL LAWYERS.
Many law firms handle personal injury cases, but few trial lawyers have won multi-million dollar jury verdicts or gained the reputation for success enjoyed by The Fernandez Firm Accident Injury Attorneys. Year end and year out our attorneys have been nationally recognized by many groups including the Better Business Bureau, SuperLawyers, Who’s Who and Tampa Bay Magazine’s Top Attorneys in Tampa Bay 2017, 2018, 2019 as the best personal injury lawyers in the Tampa Bay metropolitan area.
BIGGER IS DEFINITELY NOT BETTER.
Large firms frequently claim that bigger is better and then, when you hire them, they assign your case to a paralegal, a case manager or a young associate lawyer with little or no courtroom experience. That is not how we provide quality service to valued clients at the Fernandez Firm Accident Injury Attorneys. At our office, our team of seasoned trial lawyers personally represent each client, from day-one, through jury verdict. If you’ve hired a big firm and never met or spoken with your lawyer personally, you likely have made a big mistake.
WE WILL TAKE YOUR TAMPA NURSING HOME INJURY CASE TO TRIAL.
Some nursing home injury attorneys in Tampa are afraid to take cases to trial. Instead, many try to settle cases quickly, for pennies on the dollar, with little effort and at minimal expense. For the best results, we believe it is important to thoroughly investigate each case to determine its full value so that we can advise our clients when settlement should be considered to avoid the undue expense associated with litigation. However, in many large damages cases, insurance companies who represent the nursing home chains, do not respond unless they know your attorneys will take your case to court. In such instances, our verdicts and settlements can be very persuasive in negotiating these often expensive, medically complex, cases.
Dangers of Covid-19 in Tampa Nursing Homes
The coronavirus is a disease or viral infection which was initially spread from animals to humans and officially known as COVID-19. According to reliable news sources, at least 27,600 elderly residents and workers have died from the coronavirus in nursing homes and long-term care facilities in the United States. COVID-19 is particularly lethal to older adults and persons suffering from underlying health conditions and spreads easily through congregate living facilities where people are forced to live and work in a confined environment. In many cases, affected patients initially develop flu-like symptoms, which then take a sudden and aggressive turn for the worse attacking the lungs and can eventually lead to multi-organ failure and death. While many infected persons are not symptomatic or suffer only minor symptoms similar to the common cold, elderly nursing home residents and health care works who have pre-existing conditions such as cardiac and pulmonary issues or are smokers are being hit hard by coronavirus.
How is the Coronavirus Spread in Nursing Homes?
Coronavirus, like many viral infections, is spread by the transmission of airborne droplets projected by the cough or sneeze of a person infected by the virus. Persons who thereafter inhale or come into contact with these microscopic airborne particles either by exposure on their face, eyes, mouth, nose or an open wound, are very susceptible to contract this virus. Upon becoming infected, it can then take up to 14-days for people to develop signs or symptoms of the coronavirus, which means that it can spread easily and well before the affected individual knows they are infected. Due to the contagious nature of the virus, infected covid nursing home residents and workers are at high risk of transmitting the infection if personal protective equipment is not readily available and strictly require for safety by facility ownership.
Steps Tampa Nursing Homes Must Take to Stop COVID-19
At least one third of Coronavirus deaths in the United States have occurred in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other physical rehabilitation centers. To prevent covid nursing home injury, the Center for Medicaid Services (CMS) are requiring all long-term care facilities to follow strict clinical guidelines labeled as QSO-20-14-NH. Below are some of the important steps facilities must take to protect residents and employee staff:
1. RESTRICT ALL VISITORS
CMS has issued very specific instructions stating that visitors are not allowed to visit nursing home facilities if they meet any of the following:
-
- Show signs or symptoms of infection including a fever, cough, shortness of breath or a sore throat.
- Have come into contact with someone who has tested positive or is suspected to have COVID-19.
- Has traveled internationally within the past 14-days to countries with sustained community transmission. These countries presently include Italy, China, South Korea and Iran.
- Lives in a community where the spread of COVID-19 is rapidly occurring, such as in New York City, Westchester New York, Kings County New York, Washington state and other areas throughout the U.S.
Further, nursing home facilities may require all visitors wear face masks or other personal protective equipment even if they do not meet the above criteria.
2. LIMIT PERSONAL VISITATION
If the facility is in an area that has significant community-based spread, nursing home may limit or restrict access to residents and the facilities. This includes areas where there is increasing infection and active infection. This includes limiting personal visitation by visitors who are direct family members.
3. MONITORED VISITATION
Nursing homes are permitted by CMS to monitor all visitors, staff, outside contractors and any other persons coming into and out of their facilities. These guidelines now permit these facilities to conduct regular temperature checks, require the use of hand sanitizer and face masks and limit the areas of visitation within their buildings to prevent increased infection and community-based spread.
4. MONITOR STAFF MEMBERS
To ensure the health of all residents and staff, nursing homes are also required to monitor all facility employees and health care workers coming into and out of their buildings. CMS recommends these facilities conduct employee temperature checks, require all staff to wash hands regularly, use hand sanitizer and wear face masks while on duty. Facilities are required to monitor the health of its workers and immediately stop them from working if they: show signs or symptoms of infection; have come into contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus; or has traveled internationally within the past 14-days.
5. ENCOURAGE ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF COMMUNICATION
Nursing homes and assisted living facilities have been recommended to set up additional telephone lines and provide video conferencing capability to protect at risk residents from exposure to the coronavirus infection. Long-term care facilities are required to disinfect any communal telephones after each use.
6. LIMIT PHYSICAL CONDUCT WITH RESIDENTS
CMS has also recommended that nursing homes which permit resident visitation, limit physical contact with elderly patients and discourage hand shaking and hugging.
7. CONTACT OUR TAMPA COVID NURSING HOME INJURY ATTORNEYS
At the Fernandez Firm Accident Injury Attorneys, our experienced Tampa covid nursing home injury lawyers are always available to speak with you about your injury claim and will fight to get you the maximum compensation you deserve. Whether your claim involves a sick resident or infected nursing home employee our lawyers are here to help. We will evaluate your case for free, answer any questions you may have and guide you through the litigation process. Please contact us today at 1-866-286-4428 to schedule a free, no obligation telephone consultation. Let us show you how we can help.
Should I Contact A Tampa Nursing Home Injury Lawyer?
There are a number of reasons why it is important to contact an experienced attorney after a Coronavirus death or injury in a nursing home. As when you bring any personal injury claim, it is extremely important to investigate the case quickly to preserve as much evidence as possible. Witnesses and nursing home staff may disappear, memories can fade and it is critical you provide the attorneys you hire with adequate time to investigate your case and protect your interests in order to maximize your recovery.
Second when someone has been injured or died from a covid nursing home injury, the insurance company, risk managers and in-house attorneys for the facility likely have already begun working on your case. Many of these large national nursing home chains have vast resources and will spare no expense to defend their actions and minimize your recovery. To protect your claim, gather as much supporting evidence as you can find, avoid meeting with or providing any statement to facility risk managers/administrators and hire an experienced team of aggressive lawyers to protect your legal interests.
Finally, if you wait too long, you could lose your right to bring a claim entirely. Florida has very strict statute of limitations on nursing home injury cases and wrongful death claims. If you fail to act timely, your cause of action, regardless of merit, may forever expire.
Our covid nursing home injury attorneys, investigators, paralegals and litigation support staff are ready and available to get to work for you today. Please call our law firm for a free case evaluation.
Tampa Bay’s Most Dangerous Nursing Homes for COVID-19
In Florida, the Department of Health created a website revealing the number of elderly residents and staff members confirmed to have COVID-19 in Hillsborough County. The list, available here, identifies long-term care facilities with active cases of COVID-19. As of this writing, 423 individuals that were residents or staff of a long-term care facility have died. Some of Tampa Bay’s most dangerous nursing homes and assisted living facilities included on the list include:
Bristol at Tampa Rehabilitation and Nursing Center – Fletcher Avenue, Tampa, FL
Located in Tampa, Florida, the Bristol at Tampa Rehabilitation and Nursing Center posted on its Facebook page that they only had only one resident who tested positive for COVID-19 in April 2020. Today, according to the latest update from the State of Florida’s Health Agency for Health Care Administration, that number has rocketed to 123 confirmed cases (84 residents and 39 staff members).
Community Convalescent Center – West Oak Avenue, Plant City, FL
Community Convalescent Center located in Plant City has 105 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The state officials report that 21 employees and 84 residents — more than two-thirds of the facility’s 120 bed capacity — were infected, according to the latest data released.
Freedom Square Health Care Center – Liberty Lane, Seminole, FL
This Pinellas county long-term care facility has suffered one of the worst death tolls in Florida with two dozen deaths. To date, 104 residents and employees of Freedom Square of Seminole have tested positive for the virus.
St. Petersburg Nursing & Rehabilitation – 86th Avenue, Pinellas Park, FL
According to the state records, 40 residents and 17 employees at the St. Petersburg facility tested positive for COVID-19. All infected residents evacuated from the facility and transported to local hospitals to allow the nursing homes administration to evaluate its infection control policies and bring the virus spread under control.
St. Mark Village – Nebraska Avenue, Palm Harbor, FL
St. Mark Village, a Palm Harbor long-term care retirement community reported a flare-up of COVID-19 cases among residents and staff. The facility has reported that 28 residents and 13 have all tested positive for covid.
Carrington Place of St. Pete – Roosevelt Boulevard North, St. Petersburg, FL
This long-term care facility has had 20 residents test positive for COVID-19. Carrington Place of St. Pete recently contacted State officials to correct a previous error and now reflects that zero employees tested positive.
Consulate Health Care of Brandon – Victoria Street, Brandon, FL
Consulate Health Care of Brandon is a 120-bed skilled nursing home facility and a member of the Consulate Health. It has reported that 15 residents and 5 employees have tested positive for COVID-19
Patrick Manor, Inc. – 73rd Avenue North, St. Petersburg, FL
This assisted living facility has reported that at least 12 residents and 2 members of its health care staff have tested positive for COVID-19.
Nursing Homes Still Required to Provide Resident Rights
The coronavirus is a serious and potentially deadly condition that is affecting residents and health care workers equally. CMA and the Florida Department of Health are working hard to provide the guidance long-term care facilities need to protect resident’s rights. This is the time for nursing home companies to forget about profits over people and ensure public safety. Employees are likely to quit or stay home from work if they are not provided with sufficient personal protection equipment (such as facemask and gloves), higher hourly wages, bonuses or hazard pay. To retain current employees and hire new personnel to adequately staff affected nursing home facilities, corporate owners should offer special incentives such gift certificates and passes to local attractions like Disney World or Busch Gardens. At this juncture, the nursing home industry must provide a safe environment for all vulnerable adults who live within their facilities and protect all workers entrusted with their daily care. If you believe that a long-term care facility has endangered you or your loved one resulting in a covid nursing home injury, attorneys at our firm are here to help. To learn more, please contact us today.
Case Results Tampa Nursing Home Injury Clients
When you or someone you love has suffered a coronavirus nursing home injury, its important you retained qualified lawyers that have experience in this specialized area of the law and the ability to deliver a favorable recovery. Our attorneys regularly handle nursing home and medical negligence cases, check out some of our Victories.
$2,670,000 Million
TAMPA BAY NURSING HOME INJURY – DEATH
41-year-old mother was injured in a car accident and placed in a nursing home for rehabilitation due to her injuries. The Plaintiff who was admitted on a tracheostomy tube died suddenly as she was preparing to return home to live with family. Our lawyers discovered during the initial investigation of this case that the speech therapist responsible for the Plaintiff’s care falsified charting following her death to cover up the staff’s medical negligence when improperly using the breathing valve. After a 12-day trial, a Pinellas County jury returned a verdict finding this therapist responsible for our client’s wrongful death and awarded compensatory damages to her family.
$1,900,000 Million
NURSING HOME INJURY – WRONGFUL DEATH
76-year-old bedbound male resident suffered a nursing home injury when the staff failed to regularly assist him while in bed at its large rehabilitation facility. Doctor’s orders required that this elderly gentleman was to be turned and repositioned, at least once every two hours, to avoid skin breakdown. The medical chart revealed that the nursing staff failed to follow the doctor’s orders and as a result he developed multiple bed sores on his hips and buttocks, which subsequently became infected due to poor nursing care and resulted in his wrongful death. This nursing home injury case was settled confidentially by a the billion dollar corporation which operated the long-term care facility.
$250,000
TAMPA NURSING HOME INJURY – SETTLEMENT
87-year-old female who developed a urinary tract infection and suffered a subsequent change in mental status requiring her admission to the hospital. She was thereafter transferred for rehabilitation to a Tampa nursing home and suffered multiple falls while attempting to use the restroom without assistance. The last fall resulted in a hip fracture which was completely avoidable had the nursing staff simply taken the time to answer this elderly resident’s call button and assist her to the restroom.
Reviews From Our Clients
At the Fernandez Firm Accident Injury Attorneys, we are known for being experienced trial attorneys who have achieve record-setting results. While we are honored by our accomplishments, what we are most proud of are the thank you letters and reviews we have received from so many of our wonderful clients.
“If it was not for their guidance we would not have been able to navigate the many issues that arose. We could not have asked for better service or advice during our time of need…”.
– Stephen Levin
Rating 5/5 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
“If I could give them 10 stars I would!! I contacted their office after being turned down by many well known attorneys. Our family is forever grateful for the hard work that was put in to settling our mother’s case.”
– Lasunya Rossin
Rating 5/5 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
“Highly recommend Frank Fernandez and The Fernandez Firm Accident Injury Attorneys. They were always there to answer all my questions and always available. Very professional.”
– Rosadalia Martinez
Rating 5/5 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Start Your Tampa Nursing Home Covid 19 Claim Today With The Fernandez Firm Accident Injury Attorneys
At Fernandez Firm Accident Injury Attorneys, our experienced team of Tampa covid nursing home injury attorneys are available 24-hours a day, 7-days a week, to answer your questions. Our firm has been fighting for the rights of nursing home injury victims and their families for over 25 years.
If you or a loved one has been injured or died in a nursing home facility or assisted living center during the coronavirus pandemic, contact our lawyers who can help you file a claim. We are here to fight for you and we don’t get paid UNLESS WE WIN!
Give us a call today at 1-866-286-4428