Opinion ID: 1894271
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Chapter 400 the Nursing Home Act

Text: In contrast, the Nursing Home Act, chapter 400 of the Florida Statutes, relates to nursing homes and health care facilities and the persons those facilities serve. Part II of the act states that its purpose is to provide for the development, establishment, and enforcement of basic standards for ... [t]he health, care, and treatment of persons in nursing homes and related health care facilities and for [t]he construction, maintenance, and operation of such institutions which will ensure safe, adequate, and appropriate care, treatment and health of persons in such facilities. § 400.011, Fla. Stat. (1997). Section 400.022 expressly sets out a nursing home resident's statutory rights, which include, in part, such rights as the right to civil and religious liberties, the right to uncensored communication, the right of a resident to be adequately informed of his or her medical condition, the right to adequate and appropriate health care, the right to be treated courteously, fairly, and with the fullest measure of dignity, and the right to refuse medication or treatment. Section 400.023(1), the statutory provision at issue in this case, was enacted in 1980 to create a private cause of action for persons whose chapter 400 rights have been violated. [6] As it was originally enacted, section 400.023(1) stated, in part: (1) Any patient whose rights as specified in this part are deprived or infringed upon shall have a cause of action against any facility responsible for the violation. The action may be brought by the patient or his guardian or by a person or organization on behalf of a patient with the consent of the patient or his guardian. The action may be brought in any court of competent jurisdiction to enforce such rights and to recover actual and punitive damages for any deprivation or infringement on the rights of a patient.... The remedies provided in this section are in addition to and cumulative with other legal and administrative remedies available to a patient and the department. § 400.023(1), Fla. Stat. (Supp.1980). Section 400.023(1), Florida Statutes (1997), which is applicable to the cause of action in this case, reads, in relevant part: Any resident whose rights as specified in this part are deprived or infringed upon shall have a cause of action against any licensee responsible for the violation. The action may be brought by the resident or his or her guardian, by a person or organization acting on behalf of a resident with the consent of the resident or his or her guardian, or by the personal representative of the estate of the deceased resident when the cause of death resulted from the deprivation or infringement of the decedent's rights. The action may be brought in any court of competent jurisdiction to enforce such rights and to recover actual and punitive damages for any deprivation or infringement on the rights of a resident. Any plaintiff who prevails in any such action may be entitled to recover reasonable attorney's fees, costs of the action, and damages.... The remedies provided in this section are in addition to and cumulative with other legal and administrative remedies available to a resident and to the agency. § 400.023(1), Fla. Stat. (1997). As the Court notes, there is no reference in chapter 400 to the Wrongful Death Act or any other indication that the damages contemplated by or recoverable under section 400.023(1) are to be limited to those listed in the Wrongful Death Act.