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Time Business News
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Time Business News
BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA
In the heart of the 17th Judicial Circuit, Judge Mara's family court is presiding over a crisis of silence and delay that is costing a Florida child his father, his stability, and his voice. Mr. Rubenstein—a law-abiding paralegal with an active federal security clearance—has been stripped of all meaningful contact with his son, not by evidence of abuse, but by a temporary emergency custody order that has now become a tool for permanent exclusion. The origins of this tragedy are as shocking as the ongoing injustice. In late April, Mr. Rubenstein's son experienced a severe psychiatric crisis, repeatedly throwing objects at Mr. Rubenstein from a distance. One of these objects—a hard dog bone—struck Mr. Rubenstein in the head, causing him to lose consciousness for over thirty minutes. His fiancée, who the GAL will not even allow the child to know about, provided life-saving CPR before paramedics arrived. Mr. Rubenstein required emergency trauma care and two metal staples in his head. Despite these circumstances—completely out of his control—the mother initiated litigation against Mr. Rubenstein while he was still in the ambulance on the way to the trauma center. At the May 7 custody hearing, Judge Mara did not even have Mr. Rubenstein's objection or motion for continuance at the outset. Only after her assistant brought the filings into the virtual hearing did the judge read them—live, apparently for the first time—before immediately ruling. Compounding the irregularities, Judge Mara attempted to remove Mr. Rubenstein's daughter as well, but only backed down after Mr. Rubenstein objected that this was not included in the mother's emergency motion. Despite holding only a temporary custody order, the mother and her counsel, Meaghan Marro, have treated this as a permanent termination of Mr. Rubenstein's rights. Mr. Rubenstein has been barred from even telling his son about his recent engagement. Requests for Father's Day contact and for sharing family news have been denied or ignored. The mother also removed Mr. Rubenstein's access to school records, only restoring them under pressure. Judge Mara, rather than enforcing compliance or ensuring accountability, appointed a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) whose own statements betray clear bias: the GAL disclosed her own son was previously Baker Acted and opined that Mr. Rubenstein's son should be with his mother—ignoring both the court-ordered need for psychiatric care and the ongoing DCF investigations. The maternal grandmother is now under two back-to-back DCF investigations for alleged physical abuse, yet Mr. Rubenstein's access is further restricted and his concerns minimized. Opposing counsel, Meaghan Marro, has consistently refused to respond to settlement offers, avoided substantive engagement, and—through procedural tactics—helped foster an environment in which the mother acts as if temporary full custody is permanent. The effect is devastating: Mr. Rubenstein is barred from his child's school, medical, and personal life, while the GAL cites only the current 'temporary' order as justification for continued exclusion, in violation of Florida law and the statutory mandate to protect the child's best interests. Florida law is clear. Under Fla. Stat. § 61.13, § 61.401, and § 61.403, the court and its agents are required to foster meaningful relationships with both parents and to protect children from unnecessary psychological harm. Instead, the system has rewarded stonewalling, denied transparency, and allowed uninvestigated allegations against a household member—now the subject of dual DCF cases—to persist while the child's father is shut out. Mr. Rubenstein's case is now on appellate review and is being referred for public oversight. Hundreds of pages of evidence, filings, and records document a pattern of judicial passivity, procedural delay, and a chilling indifference to the child's well-being and due process rights. As Father's Day arrives, one Florida child will not hear from his father—not because of any proven risk or judicial finding, but because the officials charged with protecting his interests refuse to act. The silence from the 17th Judicial Circuit is more than just bureaucracy—it is irreparable harm. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
‘Lack of communication' led to unpermitted group home where murder occurred, Bartow official says
BARTOW, Fla. (WFLA) — 'Some chicken and rice,' said Eddrena Thornton, taking out a tray of food she has prepared for the five people who live with her in her home. 'I feel like I'm doing a mission that God wants me to do. It's my calling,' said Thornton. Since 2020, Thornton has run a state-licensed adult family care facility in her home with a focus on people with mental health issues. 'They don't have nowhere for them to go because they can't afford to go to assisted living because they may not have long-term care plus their income is low. They can't afford to live on their own. Their family's not taking them in so they go back to the street,' she said. In February, she opened – what the city of Bartow considers to be – a group home in a rental house across the street on Bluebird Avenue. Unlike with her adult family care home, she did not notify any governmental agencies. 'Because the people were living independently,' she said. 'I always heard that as long as you're not doing nothing for them, then you're OK. It's like they're just renting a room.' 'You're collecting money. You are engaging in a business where your sole goal is for people to live there as a group then that would be considered a group home,' said Tray Towles, director of code compliance and neighborhood services for the city of Bartow. Towles said group homes require an application and permit approval. 'It goes to our planning and zoning board who reviews that application, makes sure it fits within the scope of the ordinance,' said Towles. Towles said the violation was the result of a 'lack of communication.' 'When she actually opened her licensed facility, she reached out to the city of Bartow and made sure that she was in compliance with all of our codes at that time. She did not do that in this instance when she opened up the group home at 2226 Bluebird,' said Towles. The owner of the home, a Texas-based company, is in the process of evicting Thornton as a renter. All the residents have moved out. Towles said, because the residents are no longer there, there will be no further action or fines imposed on Thornton. 'The Bartow Chief of Police has been in touch with representatives of the Wind Meadows HOA to strengthen communication and a team approach to addressing safety concerns in the neighborhood,' said city manager Mike Herr in a statement. Towles said there are no other known group homes in the neighborhood. A neighbor tells News Channel 8 that many residents have concerns about who Thornton is housing in the neighborhood. The violation was discovered when, earlier this month, Thornton allowed an 18-year-old named Moses Ojeda to move in. Thornton said a placement agency and Ojeda's mother contacted her as Ojeda was being released from the hospital after being Baker Acted. 'I looked at the psychiatric evaluation. He had issues for him to get Baker Acted but the psychiatric evaluation said that he was calm and stable, normal, had good talk and he said he was ready to get discharged and go home with his mom,' said Thornton. Thornton said she was not able to meet him but allowed him to move in because of his mother's desperation. Later that night, Thornton saw Ojeda outside. She said she tried calling his mother to pick him up because of his strange behavior but she did not answer. Thornton said she slept on the sofa in the group home to keep an eye on Ojeda and talked to him that morning. 'He sat down and he was talking to us about God and about life and death and all this stuff…[while] the man in the room dead!' said Thornton. According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, Ojeda fatally stabbed an 81-year-old man more than 100 times in the night. 'This tragedy happened to me to not put my heart first but to always make sure I follow my steps – no matter if the person is gonna be homeless. That's not my problem. I'll see you tomorrow,' said Thornton. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
A patient broke nearly every bone in a Palms West nurse's face. Nothing changed.
Hospitals are supposed to be places of healing, not dangerous work environments for staff and patients alike. Yet, at Palms West Hospital in Loxahatchee Groves, staff have been forced to reckon with the reality that their safety could be jeopardized at any moment. My client, a 67-year-old registered nurse with decades of experience, was brutally attacked by Baker Act patient Stephen Scantlebury in an incident that could have been prevented. The assault left her with life-altering injuries, but the hospital's response has been silence. There have been no changes in security made yet, no firm commitments to increased staffing, and no efforts to provide training on de-escalation methods — it's simply business as usual. The administration's priorities are clear. Palms West recently announced a $90 million expansion project, touting new surgical capabilities and infrastructure improvements. However, conspicuously absent from that investment is any mention of increased security measures or staffing levels to protect employees and patients from known threats. Meanwhile, attacks on healthcare workers continue, and the hospital's own culture discourages those most likely to be impacted from speaking out. The day before the incident, Scantlebury's erratic behavior at a Dunkin' Donuts resulted in the police being called to the scene. Despite his family's claims that Scantlebury had been experiencing hallucinations, the police declined to intervene, concluding that he did not pose an immediate threat to himself or others. This determination appeared to rely solely on his responses to their questioning. Later, when he arrived at Palms West complaining of chest pain, his family begged for him to be committed under the Baker Act, a Florida law that allows individuals experiencing a mental health crisis to be involuntarily held for psychiatric examination and possible detention if they are deemed to pose a danger to themselves or others. The hospital refused. However, after exhibiting odd erratic behavior in the hospital and speaking with the family in more detail, Scantlebury eventually was Baker Acted. Due to the hospital's system for assigning patients to available beds, he was placed in a room on the third floor, where my client, Leelamma Lal, was assigned to care for him under standard hospital protocol. Though Baker Act patients are supposed to have sitters monitoring them at all times, these sitters lack the training or physical ability to intervene in an emergency. No additional security measures were provided. The consequences were devastating. Without warning, Scantlebury attacked my client with such force that nearly every bone in her face was broken. She now faces permanent vision loss and immeasurable emotional trauma. Editorial: A 67-year-old nurse was beaten at Palms West Hospital. Improve its security. Disturbingly, this is not an isolated incident. Only weeks later, another Baker Act patient at Palms West had to be physically restrained by six staff members. Despite this obvious pattern, the hospital continues to ignore and downplay the risks. Palms West serves approximately 65,000 patients each year. It is part of HCA Healthcare, a corporation that reported $18.29 billion in profits last year. Despite these numbers, the hospital remains critically understaffed. Her name is Leelamma Lal: Attorneys identify Palms West nurse beaten by patient last week Unlike nursing homes, which are required to meet specific nurse-to-patient ratios under Florida law, hospitals follow less stringent federal guidelines. Florida mandates that nursing homes provide at least 2.5 hours of care per resident from certified nursing assistants and maintain a minimum nurse-to-resident ratio. In contrast, hospitals — where patients often need much more intensive care — have no mandated staffing ratios or requirements to develop a staffing plan for adequate care. As a result, hospitals often prioritize cost efficiency over patient and staff safety. When nurses at Palms West raise concerns about staffing shortages, particularly regarding Baker Act and Level 2 patients, they are either ignored or face retaliatory measures. Some are demoted or placed on "do-not-hire" lists. Many employees at the hospital fear speaking up, knowing it can put their careers at risk. This culture of silence allows dangerous conditions to persist. The $90 million expansion of Palms West is being framed as a win for the community. But what good is a state-of-the-art facility if the people inside it aren't safe? Where in this budget is the funding for armed security personnel with adequate training to handle violent incidents? Where is the investment in mental health professionals who can intervene before situations escalate? Palms West has an obvious agenda: build, expand, and increase revenue. But what about protecting the nurses, doctors, and staff who make patient care possible? The hospital's actions are failing its patients, staff, and the entire Palm Beach County community. If nothing changes, other tragedies are all but certain to occur. The administration at Palms West must take responsibility. Increased security, proper staffing, and better training for handling psychiatric emergencies should not be optional – they are essential. How many more attacks will it take before the safety of healthcare workers is valued as much as the hospital's bottom line? This op-ed was written by Karen Terry. Terry is a shareholder at the Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley law firm in West Palm Beach. She is the legal representation for Leelamma Lal and her family. She wrote this for The Palm Beach Post. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Is Palms West $90M expansion putting profits before safety? | Opinion
Miami Herald
06-02-2025
- Miami Herald
Teen found not guilty of killing mom in Florida 2 years after he's accused of killing dad
A teen shot and killed his father in Oklahoma in 2023, arguing self-defense, then moved to Florida with his mother and was accused of killing her as well, Florida authorities said. He was never charged in Oklahoma because investigators couldn't rule out self-defense, but he was charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping in Florida, McClatchy News previously reported. Now, a Polk County jury has found the 17-year-old not guilty. According to a probable cause affidavit filed in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, the then-15-year-old called 911 on Valentine's Day 2023 to say he had shot his father twice after his dad began chasing him around the house with a knife and cornered him in a bedroom. He was arrested but not prosecuted, then he moved to Florida with his mother. History of safety concerns Prosecutors and defense characterized the mother-son relationship as tumultuous, with law enforcement being called for domestic violence in November 2023, leading to the son's arrest, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office. The mom had reached out to a crisis line saying 'she didn't feel safe with her son,' and the teen was Baker Acted under a Florida law that allows the state to institutionalize someone at risk of harming themselves or others, a Charlotte County deputy testified during a hearing. But when he was released, he refused to leave the facility, saying he didn't feel safe around his family either, the deputy said. 'He didn't want to go home with his mother or his grandmother, that he didn't feel safe in how he would handle that situation,' the deputy said during the hearing. The teen was then accused of threatening to harm his mom and grandmother and was Baker Acted again. The teen's defense attorney, Amy Thornhill, said in an opening statement during the trial broadcast by Court TV that the mom repeatedly threatened to harm herself and others, including in front of her son. 'You'll hear this from her own mother,' Thornhill said. 'That she makes things up. That she is unpredictable, she is erratic and goes into rages.' Self-defense argument On Sept. 6, 2024, he left home after a fight with his mom and went to stay at his grandmother's house while she was away, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a news conference at the time of the teen's arrest. His mother told him to come back home but he refused, so she drove to get him Sept. 8, according to Judd. A witness reported seeing the two arguing outside, then the teen grabbed his mom by her hair and dragged her inside the home, deputies said in a news release. Later that night, the 17-year-old called 911 to say his mother had 'lunged at him with a knife' and had fallen on it, piercing her neck, according to deputies. While a medical examiner determined she couldn't have died accidentally, refuting his initial claim that his mother had fallen on a knife, the teen's attorneys argued he had acted in self-defense. 'Isn't it more reasonable given everything you know that (the mom) picked up the knife, threatened (her son) with it and he defended himself, as he's been saying he would do for a year?' Thornhill said during closing statements. She argued it's possible his mother wanted to die and forced her son to kill her. Thornhill said the state offered no proof about what happened in the house, least of all proof beyond a reasonable doubt to convict the teen. Prosecutor Mark Levine said the mom 'meant no harm' to her son that day, adding she 'was willing to die ... at the hands of her son just to spend some more time with him.' After a day of deliberation, a jury acquitted the teen of both charges, records show. Polk County is about a 60-mile drive east from Tampa.
