
When you entrust the care of an elderly loved one to a nursing home, you want them to receive the best care possible. If they are treated otherwise, you’ll need to turn to a trusted nursing home abuse attorney to handle the case. Deciding to move an elderly family member to a nursing home is a complicated, emotional decision. While there are retirement homes that are true to their promise, many of the large corporations that own and operate nursing homes and assisted living facilities put profits over people and do not provide the quality care you expect.
As of late 2023, approximately 79% of nursing home residents lived in facilities providing less than the recommended 4.1 hours of nursing care per resident per day, indicating widespread understaffing. Furthermore, close to 90 percent of all U.S. nursing homes are understaffed, leading to situations where patients do not receive the care they need, staff are undertrained, and patients get hurt. In 2023, U.S. nursing homes received 94,499 health citations, with 8.1% (7,654 citations) related to abuse, neglect, or exploitation. Sadly, an estimated 2.1 million U.S. seniors are victims of nursing home neglect or abuse each year, making the advocacy of a skilled nursing home abuse attorney more critical than ever as preventable injuries occur daily.
The Orlando and Casselberry nursing home neglect attorneys at Warner & Warner formerly spent years defending nursing homes, so we know the tactics nursing homes use to fight lawsuits. After choosing to fight for plaintiffs’ rights instead, we now have decades of experience suing those same nursing homes and winning cases for our clients. You don’t have to look further and search for nursing home neglect lawyers. Our experience and knowledge can help you hold the nursing home or assisted living facility where your loved one was neglected accountable and help you obtain the justice you deserve.
Recognizing the Signs of Nursing Home Negligence
Nursing home neglect can range from staff forgetting or not having time to provide necessary care to careless, abusive lifting, hitting, and moving of patients. Knowing these signs will help you decide when it is time to consult a nursing home abuse attorney regarding potential negligence. In the nursing home setting, the threat of serious injury is compounded by the fact that many victims cannot communicate well enough to tell family members about their suffering, so the abusive neglect can go unnoticed until it is too late to help the patient recover.
Recognizing the signs of neglect is, therefore, essential. These signs include:
- Dehydration and Malnutrition: When staff fails to provide the necessary fluids or nutrition required for elderly health.
- Bed sores and other skin conditions: These are often a direct result of a failure to move or reposition a patient properly.
- Broken bones: Frequently caused by rough handling, drops, or unsupervised falls.
- Unexplained or frequently occurring bruises and cuts: This can be a sign of physical abuse or a dangerous lack of monitoring.
- Continual sedation: The improper use of medication to keep a resident quiet for the convenience of staff.
- Poor personal hygiene and Unsanitary conditions: Indicating a systemic failure in the facility’s care and sanitation protocols.
- Decreased mobility: When residents are left in beds or chairs for hours on end without assistance.
- Behavioral changes: Seeming unusually depressed, angry, or fearful, or frequent rocking, mumbling, or sucking behaviors can also be signs of neglect or abuse.
Recognizing these red flags helps family members identify the right time to call an assisted living facility abuse lawyer or a nursing home neglect attorney to investigate the situation. If you’re in Orlando or Casselberry, the nursing home negligence attorneys at Warner & Warner can guide you through the legal process.
What is Nursing Home Abuse? Insights from a Nursing Home Abuse Attorney
Nursing home abuse is an intentional act of caregivers to cause harm, injury, or even death to residents. Connect with a nursing home abuse attorney when you suspect nursing home abuse in any of the following forms:
PHYSICAL ABUSE
Injuries like bruising, cuts, and broken bones staff members and caregivers may lie about or not report at all. Some residents have also suffered from choking, being shoved, or spat upon.
EMOTIONAL ABUSE
Yelling at the resident, manipulating their decisions, or isolating them from people are all forms of emotional abuse which may increase the resident’s stress and anxiety level. Threats and remarks that are racist, sexist, or ageist are also considered abuse.
SEXUAL ABUSE
In some cases, residents may be sexually abused by staff members or other residents, leaving them traumatized and feeling helpless. These incidents include forcing residents to remove clothing, watching pornographic videos, or even sexual comments.
FINANCIAL ABUSE
Some nursing home employees may establish close relationships with residents only to steal from their bank accounts, use their credit cards, or have them change their will’s beneficiary to the caregiver’s name.
MEDICAL ABUSE
Extreme cases of negligence may constitute abuse, including intentionally ignoring one’s medical needs, or refusing to provide medical attention to a resident who is sick or injured. Denying medications to punish residents is also medical abuse.
UNNECESSARY USE OF RESTRAINTS
A chemical restraint is when drugs are administered to control a person’s behavior. A physical restraint is used to keep a person from moving around. The use of a restraint for the convenience of the staff is against the law.
Florida Nursing Home Negligence Lawsuits

If a family member has been injured due to negligence at a nursing home, you may be able to file a civil suit against the nursing home and recover damages for your loved one’s pain, suffering, medical expenses, and other damages recoverable under Florida law. The grounds for such a lawsuit might be:
- Negligent Hiring: Nursing homes have an obligation to hire qualified personnel with the requisite academic degrees for the positions for which they are hired and no record of abuse or violence. If a nursing home hires employees without conducting background checks, they are putting their patients at risk and can be held liable for negligence.
- Inadequate Training: In some cases, nursing home employees are not properly trained to handle disabled or disobedient residents, so they may provide substandard care. If inadequate staff training results in a patient being seriously injured, the nursing home can be held liable.
- Understaffing: The average nursing home staff to patient ratio is 1 staff member to every 1.64 patients; however, many facilities need more than the average number of staff members because their patients require extensive care. If a nursing home is understaffed, patients may be neglected because there is no one available to care for them or because staff members are overworked and stressed. If a patient suffers an injury due to understaffing, the nursing home can be held liable for the injury.
- Medication Errors: Medications are a necessary part of care for most nursing home residents. If they are not given the proper medication or proper dosage, they could suffer serious consequences. When this happens, the healthcare provider, pharmacy, or pharmacist can be held liable for negligence.
- Third-Party Responsibility: Nursing homes can also be held liable for injuries caused by third parties within the facility because they have a duty to provide a safe environment for their patients. For instance, if a patient is injured by another patient or a guest at the facility, the nursing home is legally responsible if they failed to provide adequate security to prevent such an incident.
Seeking expert legal guidance from an experienced nursing home neglect attorney is essential when a loved one has suffered due to facility-wide failures. A dedicated nursing home abuse attorney from Warner & Warner will help you understand your legal rights and do everything possible to hold the responsible parties accountable.
Why Choose Us as Your Experienced Orlando Nursing Home Abuse Attorney
Elder abuse in nursing homes is both heartbreaking and preventable, and you need a nursing home abuse attorney who is deeply committed to protecting seniors. At Warner & Warner, our experienced assisted living facility abuse lawyers and nursing home attorneys combine years of legal expertise with compassionate advocacy.
- Decades of focused experience – we specialize in nursing home abuse cases and understand the tactics negligent facilities may use.
- Comprehensive evidence gathering – we document abuse thoroughly, including medical records, staff reports, and facility policies.
- Relentless advocacy for justice – we hold facilities accountable and pursue maximum compensation for victims and families.
- Guidance and support throughout the process – we ensure families feel informed, supported, and confident in every legal step.
Many Florida attorneys who say they are nursing home negligence attorneys actually have little or no experience suing nursing homes, and experience truly matters in these complicated cases. When choosing a lawyer to sue a nursing home, you need to be careful and ask about their experience. If you’re in Orlando or Casselberry, look for an elderly abuse attorney with knowledge of the tactics nursing homes use to defend themselves and a track record of success in suing nursing homes.
The nursing home negligence attorneys at Warner & Warner have decades of experience defending and suing nursing homes, whereas not many lawyers can honestly make that claim. Our law firm has handled hundreds of nursing home cases in Florida, and we know how to successfully challenge the huge companies that own and control nursing homes.
In Florida, cases against nursing home abuse must generally be brought within two years. This means your family only has very little time to file claims for damages. At Warner & Warner, our nursing home neglect attorneys understand that time is of the essence, as evidence can disappear quickly. Our nursing lawyers will file a claim on your behalf, go to trial for you, and discuss your legal options to achieve a just and fair compensation. Call us at 321.972.1889 for a free consultation.
Sources
LTCCC Alert: Latest Nursing Home Report Shows Widespread Understaffing (Q4 2023)
Elder Abuse Statistics for 2025

