Nursing homes are meant to provide care to those who can't take care of themselves, or need monitoring because of a medical condition. Many people choose to go into nursing homes, or their family members put them in assisted living facilities to provide them with continuous care that they might not be able to provide. Elderly are increasingly vulnerable to many types of abuse and neglect in physical, financial and emotion states. Neglect is an increasing problem, and many companies are layered with different ownership, making accountability a complicated issue.

A Florida man has won a lawsuit because of his mother's wrongful death caused by nursing home neglect. The woman, who was in a wheelchair and suffered from dementia, fell down a stairwell in 2004, when she passed through a door that is believed to have been left open when some employees went outside for a smoke break. The woman died at age 94, and her son sued the facility, and was awarded $200 million, but has yet to receive payment because of the multiple layers of ownership and company changes.

When the man sued the nursing home facility, they went unrepresented at trial because the company that operated the home no longer existed, and those who bought parts of the company felt they weren't liable. Further complicating matters was the fact that the federal government, in many cases, can't figure out who owns some nursing homes and who should be held accountable for damages.

Because nursing home neglect cases in Florida often include many variables regarding ownership, it is important that those seeking damages have a solid legal case, with persistent legal representation.

Source: Tampa Bay Times, "Who should pay the $200 million for nursing home death? It's complicated," Stephen Nohlgren, Feb. 5, 2012