Can I Get a Nursing Home Incident Report

Nursing home incident reports are created following significant adverse incidents that occur to residents inside a facility. Patient falls, bad pressure sores, unexplained death and medication mistakes all warrant the completion of an incident report. However, most families get the runaround when they try to obtain an incident report from the nursing home. The facility commonly claims the incident report is privileged, confidential or ‘work product’ for internal use only. As nursing home abuse lawyers, we are regularly asked, how can I obtain a nursing home incident report?

We Can Help Get Your Nursing Home Incident Report

If a serious adverse incident occurred involving your loved one, you likely have grounds to pursue an underlying nursing home negligence case. Our attorneys have successfully obtained hundreds of incident reports from nursing homes. Let our years of experience in this sub-specialty help you get answers to tough questions. Call us today for a free consultation: 1-844-253-8919.
The Law on Nursing Home Incident Reports

When something concerning happens where a loved one lives, it can leave you feeling helpless and searching for clarity. You deserve answers—and knowing how to access the right documents can bring both peace and a path forward. GET HELP HERE

When and Why are Nursing Home Incident Reports Created?

Pursuant to Fla. Stat. §400.147(1)(f), every facility shall establish an internal risk management and quality assurance program, which requires the analysis of resident grievances and the quality of clinical services.

Subsection (5) requires a report be created for any of the following events:

1. Death;

2. Brain or spinal damage, subdural hematoma;

3. Permanent disfigurement;

4. Fracture of bones or joints, broken hips and other serious fractures;

5. A limitation of neurological, physical, or sensory function;

6. Any condition that required outside medical attention, like a stage 4 bedsore;

7. Any condition that required the transfer of the resident, within or outside the facility, to a unit providing a more acute level of care due to the adverse incident, rather than the resident’s condition prior to the adverse incident; or

8. An event that is reported to law enforcement or its personnel for investigation; or

9. Resident elopement, if the elopement places the resident at risk of harm or injury.

The Law on Producing Nursing Home Incident Reports

In Florida, nursing home incident reports are discoverable pursuant to Florida Statute §400.147(4), which states in relevant part:

Each internal risk management and quality assurance program shall include the use of incident reports to be filed with the risk manager and the facility administrator. The risk manager shall have free access to all resident records of the licensed facility. The incident reports are part of the workpapers of the attorney defending the licensed facility in litigation relating to the licensed facility and are subject to discovery, but are not admissible as evidence in court. A person filing an incident report is not subject to civil suit by virtue of such incident report.

This means that your attorney can obtain the incident report for you through discovery. Although the statute states that the incident report itself is not admissible in an underlying civil proceeding, the information contained in the nursing home incident report can be used to locate witnesses and figure out what happened.

Speak With Our Trusted, Dedicated Nursing Home Negligence Lawyers Now

Are Florida Nursing Home Incident Reports Privileged or Confidential?

No. The law on this is clear that incident reports must be produced to your attorney through discovery. There is no quality assurance or work product privilege for nursing homes. See, Tampa Medical Associates v. Estate of Torres, 903 So.2d 259 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005) and Mariner Health Care of Metrowest, Inc. v. Best, 879 So.2d 65 (5th DCA 2004).

Tampa Medical Associates v. Estate of Torres

In this 2nd District Appellate case, the appellate court held that resident fall incident reports were discoverable in the underlying Tampa nursing home abuse case. The Second District Court of Appeal held that:

In this case, the trial court conducted an in camera inspection and determined that certain incident reports were discoverable. We conclude that [Defendant Nursing Home] has not shown that the trial court departed from the essential requirements of law in making this determination.

Michelle T
00:28 04 Feb 23
I don't have the words to say to cover the amount of gratitude for the team, and especially Attorney Dylan Hanson, and his team. When your parent is in a position they have no control over, and you, the child, have to step in, Mr. Hanson and the ENTIRE team at Senior Justice stepped up, and I do mean the ENTIRE team because I learned very quickly that they actually work together so noone is missed! They not only helped resolve the problem, they were there for any questions, concerns, support, and guidance, in full honest, upfront detail! We need more teams like this! For my parent, and myself though, we are truly grateful for everything they did! Again, thank you ALL!
Eric G
23:43 01 Feb 23
My brother and I lost our Mom due to the negligence and neglect of a nursing home. Once she passed, I really just wanted the nightmare to be over but my brother insisted that we pursue some action against the facility. We had no luck with the state or the government oversight so we turned to Senior Justice.
Honestly I wasn’t expecting much and I was skeptical going in. The team at Senior Justice proved themselves to be compassionate and respectful as well as holding the facility responsible for their actions. We received a much larger compensation than I had imagined and my brother and I are truly thankful for the folks at Senior Justice.
Lynn Odinov-Daniels
21:53 28 Dec 22
Sr. Justice Law Firm, under the direction of Michael Brevda and David Brevda, exacts justice for the most vulnerable. Dylan J. Hanson, expertly and compassionately, smoothly steers the complex process to a successful and just outcome. Tamar Green-Martin completes the team approach with her detailed administrative assistance. This is an outstanding law firm!
Simone McClure
17:01 16 Dec 22
The sincere compassion, and diligence from the Senior Justice Law Firm in handling my father's case made the whole experience easier. We are eternally grateful that they were able to right a terrible wrong done to us. I whole heartedly recommend hiring them if you want justice for your loved ones!
jesse devoursney
13:56 06 Apr 22
Great and very competent staff. Not one person is missing a beat from intake to the attorneys!
Melo C
12:16 04 Dec 21
Our attorney David was kind, understanding, compassionate and helpful. He fought for my mom and made us feel important. He showed us that this was more than just a job for him rather a passion he has to help those in need. He always kept us updated with the progress, asked how my mom was doing and sincerely cared about getting justice for my mom. I’m so thankful to him and his team.
Crystal Burrows-Rochez
19:47 03 Jun 21
Senior Justice Law Firm is the best, everyone at the office showed compassion and concern. The Firm was able to help my family with a situation that my 96 year old Grandmother, experienced while she was a patient at a local Nursing and Rehab Center. She was there for several weeks to recover and have physical therapy from having surgery due to a fall that caused her to break her right hip. When she returned home I was not informed she had two bed sores one on her buttock and on her heal of the injured hip, hair matted, very stiff in her limbs and weak. My family felt she did not get the proper care as promised and she was neglected due to her having dementia and not able to communicate. The communication was awful from all staff. During the entire stay I constantly complained and worried. I highly recommend this Law Firm to help you out in any legal matters of this nature.
Only Lord Knows
06:04 20 Feb 21
Senior Justice law firm, is a professional and friendly company that provides great customer service and, Gives great referrals to best fit their customer needs. Thank you for a great experience. Keep fighting for the people that need you the most, keep it up guys...God bless🙏🏽
K & E McDonnell
04:41 02 Aug 17
Mr. Michael Brevda and his staff were so compassionate and supportive of me in my situation. My mother had experienced multiple falls while in a care center and I didn’t know where to turn for help, until I personally spoke with Michael on the phone. I was sorry to learn that he wasn’t able to assist me because he was not licensed to practice law in my state. But to my surprise, Michael, gave me a follow-up call with a name of a local attorney to contact.

Michael more than exceeded my expectations and I will always be grateful for what he did to help me during a very trying time in my life.

I highly recommend the Senior Justice Law Firm, if you are searching for a professional team of attorneys who will be looking out for your best interest.

Mariner Health Care of Metrowest, Inc. v. Best

In this 5th District Appellate case, the appellate court held that resident fall incident reports were discoverable in the underlying Orlando nursing home abuse case. The Fifth District Court of Appeal held that:

We conclude that the petition for writ of certiorari should be granted and the discovery order quashed. On remand, the trial court should hold an in camerainspection of the documents. As in Fluitt, the precise nature of the grievance logs and related documents sought by Best is unclear. If these documents were generated under section 400.147(4), under the holding in Fluitt, they would be subject to discovery.

Can I get an Incident Report from a Nursing Home?