FL Nursing Homes Ask DeSantis For Lawsuit Immunity

The Miami Herald reports:

The decades-long quest of Florida elder-care facilities to secure greater protections against negligence lawsuits may get a boost from the unlikeliest of events: a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic that is ravaging their residents.

A 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.

Last week DeSantis pressured the Miami Herald’s longtime legal firm, which does other work for the state, into dropping a suit seeking the names of the affected nursing homes. The Herald has since hired another firm. Read the full article. No paywall.