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Graber v. Joseph L. Morse Geriatric Center, Inc.
Citations: 837 So. 2d 473; 2002 Fla. App. LEXIS 19142; 2002 WL 31870203Docket: No. 4D01-3899
Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida; December 25, 2002; Florida; State Appellate Court
Statutory construction and pleading issues are central to this case, where the trial court granted partial summary judgment for the defendant nursing home, dismissing the survivor’s damage claims. The plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the estate's damage claim without prejudice, leading to a final judgment that the plaintiff now appeals. The plaintiff's complaint alleged violations of her husband’s rights as a nursing home resident under section 400.023, Florida Statutes (1999), which resulted in his death, claiming damages for medical expenses, funeral costs, lost support, companionship, and mental suffering. Although these damages are recognized under the Wrongful Death Act, the plaintiff did not explicitly reference the Act in the complaint. On the trial's eve, the nursing home filed for partial summary judgment, contending that section 400.023 restricted claims solely to the resident, excluding survivor’s claims. The trial court, relying on precedent, granted the motion and struck the surviving spouse's damage claims. Following this ruling, the parties reached an agreement where the plaintiff dismissed the estate's claim to enable an appeal. Before the final judgment was entered, the plaintiff sought to amend the complaint to include wrongful death claims based on both section 400.023 and simple negligence, which the trial court denied. The core issue is whether the 1999 version of section 400.023 permits the personal representative of a deceased nursing home resident to recover survivor’s damages under the Wrongful Death Act when negligence claims arise from violations of the resident's rights. The ruling establishes that the statute allows such recovery, affirming that the personal representative can pursue claims when the cause of death is linked to deprivation of the resident's rights, countering the nursing home's argument that the statute and prior case law barred these claims. The court concluded that neither the statute nor the prior ruling in Hamilton prevents the plaintiff from seeking damages. The statute allows a personal representative to pursue an action when death results from infringement of the decedent’s rights but does not specify the types of damages recoverable. In Hamilton, it was established that recoverable damages are limited to those authorized under the Wrongful Death Act, which includes damages for the decedent’s survivors. The current plaintiff sought damages for the surviving spouse's pain and suffering, unlike the Hamilton case, where claims were related to the decedent’s pain and suffering prior to death. The trial court's error was in issuing a partial summary judgment favoring the defendant regarding the survivor’s damage claims. The case is remanded for further proceedings in line with this opinion.