The Florida nursing home industry is going to war in the Legislature, alleging that nursing home neglect lawsuits are unwarranted. This, despite the following:

Research in 2001 by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Orlando Sentinel found that the bulk of nursing home lawsuits have merit and that alleged wrongdoing can be serious. The newspapers also found that few punitive damage awards are in excess of $1 million.

I have handled some nursing home neglect cases. They are truly awful cases of, often times, letting people literally rot in their beds. The industry is, by and large, poorly run, especially in light of specific federal and state regulations spelling out what constitutes nursing home abuse. Based on what I have seen first hand, the Florida operators have much to answer for, and are not deserving of legal protections at the cost of their usually helpless nursing home residents.