Florida’s largest advocacy group for long-term care providers is requesting protection from lawsuits for health care professionals amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The Florida Health Care Association (FHCA) sent a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis requesting “immunity from any liability, civil or criminal” under certain conditions for nursing homes, hospitals, and other facilities. Members of the Florida Health Care Association (FHCA) are requesting the same blanket immunity from lawsuits. The trade group for Florida’s nearly 700 nursing homes is asking Gov. Ron DeSantis to extend the state’s sovereign immunity provisions to the industry and other healthcare sectors
during the course of the coronavirus pandemic. If the request is granted, hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other providers would be protected against negligence suits. DeSantis is already doing the industry a favor by refusing to name nursing homes and ALFs where positive tests have occurred. The Miami Herald, joined by a slew of other news organizations, has filed notice of intent to file a public records lawsuit over that refusal. The group is the most recent in a series of health care associations seeking legal immunity during the coronavirus outbreak. Florida has reported 962 cases of COVID-19 throughout the state’s nursing home facilities. This
‘legal immunity’ and protection from lawsuits protect the powerful and prevents patients and their families from obtaining justice, at a time when they need it most. Nursing homes throughout the country are struggling to prevent the spread of COVID-19, many keeping their residents quarantined in their individual rooms. However, not all elderly patients are able to function independently in a closed setting. The healthcare industry is not the only industry seeking immunity from lawsuits during this time, some of the major cruise lines and their legal teams have been working hard to have the courts allow them to not respond to filings against them.
Covid-19 Updates and Resources
The Florida Department of Health is now compiling Florida COVID-19 cases by zip code. You can search cases in your neighborhood here: https://floridahealthcovid19.gov While updates and resources about COVID-19 can be found on the CDC site, we provided some additional resources below. For updates concerning public health orders, courts, and other information see the following links below:
CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/
State: http://www.floridahealth.gov/diseases-and-conditions/COVID-19/index.html
Local: https://miamidade.gov/coronavirus
Florida Courts: https://www.jud11.flcourts.org/coronavirus
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Coronavirus Crisis
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