The Senate Judiciary Committee passed a measure that would raise the bar higher for people seeking punitive damages from nursing homes, the Florida Times-Union reports.
One lawmaker lamented the passage of the bill, citing testimony from a woman who told lawmakers about her mother’s sexual assault in a Jacksonville nursing home. Although the family was supposed to be awarded a $750,000 judgment, none of it has been paid. Amendments to the bill passed yesterday make it even more difficult to sue parent companies that are often out-of-state.
Meanwhile, the same committee approved stronger regulations on Assisted-Living Facilities (ALFs), the Florida Current reports.
In other legislative news, a bill that would revive and protect Silver Springs from pollution is stuck, without receiving a hearing, the Tampa Bay Times reports.