Livewell at Coral Plaza Lawsuits and Legal History

Livewell at Coral Plaza is an assisted living facility managed by Livewell Operations I, LLC since June 2012. The Livewell group has several locations; Livewell at Coral Plaza is located at 5850 Margate Blvd., Margate, Florida 33063. The assisted living facility’s website says it offers 140 beds in South Florida, offering “carefree assisted living,” and “unmatched quality of care…with exceptional amenities.” However, Livewell at Coral Plaza has faced prior litigation and state deficiency citations.

Our Florida assisted living abuse attorneys explain this facility’s legal past.

Lawsuits Against Livewell at Coral Plaza

The Estate of Lusan Douglas vs. Livewell at Coral Plaza

In this 2020 case against the Livewell assisted living facility in Margate, it is alleged that Livewell Coral Plaza violated Lusan Douglas’ Ch. 429 statutory residents rights, which resulted in his wrongful death. Specifically, it was alleged that Mr. Douglas was found dead in his room by his daughter, Mary, naked with his legs turned sideways in the bed and his arms elevated.

Attorney Disclaimer

*Each case is different. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome or indicate an expected outcome on your particular case. The above prior lawsuit information is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The information is not provided in the course of an attorney-client relationship and is not intended to substitute for legal advice from an attorney. This individual case information above is publicly filed information gathered from the publicly filed complaint. This information and these cases are not the work of this law firm. The contents of this website should not be construed as legal advice on any specific fact or circumstance. Your receipt of such information does not create an attorney-client relationship with this law firm or any of its lawyers. You should not act or rely on any of the information contained herein without seeking professional legal advice. Speak with an attorney immediately if you believe you have a viable case against a nursing home, assisted living facility or medical facility. 

Legal Inspections and Surveys at Livewell at Coral Plaza

Since the change of ownership in 2012, the facility has been fined twice, although one fine issued in February 2020 was reduced from $500 to $250. That February 2020 fine was related to the facility’s failure to have a sufficient alternative power source that would allow the facility to maintain a temperature of less than 81 degrees Fahrenheit for 96 hours if their main source of power was lost. In addition, in July 2013, Livewell at Coral Plaza was fined $1,250 for training its medical technicians to give medications an hour earlier or later than scheduled, and for failing to ensure that adverse incident reports were properly filed and completed. Namely, incident reports did not show whether the resident was assessed for injuries and what type of medical attention was provided to the injured resident.

In addition to the above two fines, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration has also filed deficiency citation reports regarding Livewell at Coral Plaza’s noncompliance with state or federal regulations. The three most recent deficiency citation reports are summarized below.

Standard Statement of Deficiencies dated 11/13/2019 at Livewell Coral Plaza

In this lengthy Statement of Deficiencies, the surveyor first noted that the facility did not appear to be following its own policies regarding resident grievances. Although resident complaints are to be logged into the grievance log, confidential interviews with residents showed that their complaints had never been logged.

In addition, in terms of staff training, several staff members were missing documents in their personnel files that would attest to the fact that they had received orientation training, training in incident reporting, elopement, and/or nutrition and safe food handling. The surveyor also found that one staff member, who was employed as an unlicensed staff member working as a Medical Technician, did not have any documents evidencing that she had completed the full 6 hours of training required to assist residents with their medication. Finally, when the Administrator’s personnel file was reviewed, there was no application, references, or job description included in that file. The Administrator stated that she had completed an application but was unable to find those documents.

Complaint Statement of Deficiencies dated 10/24/2018 at Livewell at Coral Plaza

This survey was conducted pursuant to a complaint received by AHCA. The surveyor found that Livewell at Coral Plaza had not followed Assisted Living Facility policies regarding allegations of abusive or negligent conduct.

The incident in question involved a female resident who is continent during the day but requires an adult brief at night as she cannot safely transport herself to the toilet at night. She used the call bell one night to be changed and Staff A responded. While changing the resident, Staff A allegedly made some crude comments regarding the resident’s genitalia and made a hand gesture to suggest sexual intercourse. The resident stated that the way Staff A was speaking to her made her upset and fearful and she called a family member the following day regarding the incident. At the family member’s urging, she reported the incident to a staff member she trusted, who relayed the information to the Director of Nursing. In addition, the resident stated that another staff member, Staff C, had come in during the night shift and started to curse at the resident for making allegations against Staff A, which made the resident fearful of retaliation.

A phone call with the resident’s family member confirmed that he had not heard anything from the facility regarding the potential sex abuse incident and that when he spoke to the Administrator, she appeared to be defending the staff members.

Despite Adult Protective Services visiting the facility the day prior to the survey, the Administrator admitted that they had not been told of the incident. Although Staff A was removed from duties regarding the resident’s care, the facility did not take any further steps to ensure its residents were protected, there was no follow up with resident, and the resident’s physician was not informed. The surveyor noted that the facility caused the resident to suffer emotional distress.

Standard Statement of Deficiencies dated 7/10/2018 at Livewell ALF in Margate

Two sanitation and hygiene deficiencies were found during this survey. First, the surveyor noted that staff members did not sanitize or wash their hands between or before administering medication to several residents. In addition, a staff member was observed to touch wheelchairs of residents while also serving food, without sanitizing her hands.

Residents were also served food without servers asking their preference, and tables were not served at the same time. When a resident asked a server about her food, he stated that “it’s not all about you, we have other people waiting to be served too.” The resident later stated in an interview that she was tired of waiting upwards of 30 minutes to be served.

When the Administrator was asked for an approved Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan, she admitted that the facility had not received an approved emergency plan for 2018.

Finally, three staff members had not been registered in the Background Screening Clearinghouse.

Conclusion

Based on the allegations of the lawsuit versus Livewell at Coral Plaza, along with the the deficiency citations, healthcare surrogates should monitor their loved one closely in this facility. However, this is true of any Florida ALF or nursing home.

If your loved one suffered abuse, neglect or serious injury inside a Fort Lauderdale assisted living facility, contact our skilled attorneys right away. Our firm focuses on elder abuse injuries inside long term care facilities. We can help your family get justice.

Call us now for a free case consultation: 754-312-7202