Many nursing home and assisted living facility (ALF) lawsuits in Florida make reference to state surveys in the discovery phase in order to bolster a claim or seek leave for punitive damages. Surprisingly, there is little to no direct Florida law on the issue.
Long term care litigation lawyers may want to take note of M.S., the Father v. Department of Children and Families which was issued by the Fourth District in early April.
In that case, the Panel (Warner, Stevenson and Damoorgian) kept out of evidence a DCF welfare record after a detailed discussion of reports, hearsay, and the business records exception.