An arbitrator has found The Encore at Boca Raton Rehabilitation and Nursing Center negligent in the 2023 death of 80-year-old resident Patricia Batashoff, awarding her family $3 million. The case centered on a basic but critical failure, according to the family's attorneys: the facility never gave Batashoff a blood thinner her own hospital records said she needed to keep taking.
Batashoff moved into The Encore in September 2023 after being discharged from the hospital, according to CBS12 News. Her hospital records said she should continue taking the medication, but the nursing home failed to provide it, the outlet reported. On October 27, 2023, The Encore sent her to the hospital after she developed stroke symptoms, and she died on November 2 of that year, with a stroke listed as her cause of death.
Arbitrator Splits Blame Between Nursing Home and Doctors
The arbitrator found The Encore 85 percent responsible for Batashoff's death and ordered it to pay $2.55 million of the $3 million total award, per the same account. Batashoff's primary care doctors were found 15 percent responsible, though they were not named as parties in the lawsuit and were not ordered to pay anything. The family's attorneys argued that the nursing home should have reconciled Batashoff's medications and alerted her doctors to any discrepancies, while the facility countered that its nurses could not order medications on their own, the report notes. The arbitrator ultimately agreed with the family's position.
The case did not go before a judge or jury. Instead, it proceeded in arbitration because of a clause in the contract Batashoff signed when she became a resident of the facility, a common feature of nursing home admission paperwork. The arbitration award will become legally binding only once a judgment is entered, the family's attorneys said.
A Mother Remembered as Independent and Engaged
Attorneys for the family described Batashoff as someone who remained independent up until her death and had traveled to several weddings in the years beforehand. Her daughter moved to Florida with her in 2019 and visited her regularly, while her son spoke with her by phone nearly every day, the attorneys said.
Facility's Broader Record Under Scrutiny
The Encore at Boca Raton has faced other legal challenges over resident care. A 2024 lawsuit in Palm Beach County alleged that staff failed to develop an adequate care plan and properly monitor resident Alphonso Lee Davis, contributing to wounds, falls, unexplained injuries and respiratory failure, according to BocaNewsNow, which reported that the suit sought damages beyond Florida's statutory minimum of $50,000. Separately, ProPublica's nursing home database shows inspection reports documenting deficiencies at the facility involving treatment and care, nutrition, infection prevention and control, medication services and accident prevention.
Medication mistakes involving blood thinners are a recognized risk in nursing facilities more broadly. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has identified excessive bleeding tied to anticoagulant use as the second most frequent cause of medication-related adverse events in nursing homes, with harm ranging from hospitalization to death. A 2018 report from the federal Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General also found that Florida's state agency did not obtain evidence that nursing homes had corrected an estimated 455 of 2,381 sampled deficiencies.
Arbitration Clauses Face Their Own Legal Fights
Arbitration agreements like the one Batashoff signed are not always enforced without a challenge. In Davis v. Hearthstone, Florida's Second District Court of Appeal reversed an order compelling arbitration after a nursing home produced only the signature page of its agreement rather than the full contract, a ruling detailed by attorney Matt Weidner's firm. Outside Florida, a New Jersey appeals court recently declined to disturb an order forcing a widow to arbitrate medical-negligence and wrongful-death claims against a nursing home, according to Law360, reflecting how such clauses continue to shape where and how these cases are decided nationwide.
CBS12 News reported that it reached out to The Encore for comment and would update its story upon receiving a response.
