My Story…
by Philip Glickstein
Over the past 35 years, Florida Statute §768.21(8) (Subsection 8) has been a subject of intense debate and controversy. I was compelled to examine this issue due to a personal tragedy. In May 2020, I lost my 92-year-old mother to the negligence of licensed healthcare professionals. On the morning my mother was to be discharged from Winter Haven Hospital (WHH), the RN assigned to her care ignored a hospital safety policy which stated that if a patient’s bed is equipped with a Fall Prevention Alarm, the alarm must be engaged at all times. Not only did the nurse fail to document the status of the alarm when she assumed care of my mother, she also disregarded the hospital’s policy a second time some three hours later when a coworker brought the safety infraction to her attention. Approximately one hour later, my mother attempted to exit her bed to use the restroom, became tangled up in the medical tubing attached to her legs, and fell to the floor. She laid on the floor for over five minutes, in pain and bleeding internally from the injuries she sustained before a passerby finally heard her cries for help. My mother died 18 agonizing days later, covered in bruises from her neck to her thighs, front and back.
After being found negligent on seven counts by the Florida Department of Children and Families, the nurse was not held accountable for her negligence by Florida’s Department of Health. To this day, she continues to deliver her brand of nursing care to her patients. Compounding my grief and frustration with the lack of accountability for Florida’s healthcare professionals, I met a systemic barrier to my pursuit of justice in the civil court system when no attorney would take my case: all referred to the restrictive provisions of the above-cited statute. After contacting and being rejected by 85 law firms during the two-year statute of limitations period, I realized I was alone in my pursuit of justice. Several attorneys with whom I spoke confirmed that my case was solid and well-argued, but justice would not be served until the political winds shifted in Florida. In my naivete, I did not realize that in the state of Florida, the pursuit of justice is a political issue, not a legal one.
By mid-2023, I learned of a Task Force commissioned by the 1987 Florida Legislature to study an alleged “medical crisis.” I obtained a copy of the study and meticulously analyzed it, uncovering multiple discrepancies between lobbyists' and lawmakers' assertions, the intent of the legislative response, and the brutal reality of the statute's impact on the Constitutionally-protected rights of Florida citizens and tourists/visitors alike. My research suggests that the 35-year-old narrative surrounding the passage of Subsection 8 is incomplete, misleading, and harmful to the trust placed in government by the citizens, in doctors by their patients, and to the overall health of a civil society. This paper will review the problems, examine the challenges, and offer solutions for the future. This is my way to honor my mother’s legacy so other families and patients are safer.