A wrongful-death complaint filed in Palm Beach County alleges that a West Palm Beach nursing facility and one of its providers failed to deliver appropriate care to a 79-year-old patient who died in April 2024, just two days after he was admitted.
The lawsuit, Patricia Hicks, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Granville Hicks v. The Joseph L. Morse Health Center, Inc. and Sophia D. Lyn-Chinque, APRN (Case No. 502025CA012711XXXAMB), was filed on December 8, 2025, in the Circuit Court of the 15th Judicial Circuit in and for Palm Beach County.
The complaint, submitted by attorneys at Gordon & Partners, P.A., on behalf of plaintiff Patricia Hicks, states that her husband, Granville Hicks, was admitted to the Joseph L. Morse Health Center on April 19, 2024, and died on April 21, 2024. The suit contends that the facility and nurse practitioner Sophia D. Lyn-Chinque, APRN, committed a series of failures in assessing and treating the patient as his condition deteriorated. All the claims laid out in the filing remain allegations at this stage.
According to the complaint, nursing staff recorded that Hicks appeared “very weak and pale” early on the morning of April 21. A nurse reportedly contacted Lyn-Chinque at 8:26 a.m. to report a systolic blood pressure in the 60s and 70s. The filing states that the provider instructed staff to keep the patient on bedrest in a modified Trendelenburg position until his pressure rose above 90, but did not order IV fluids or an emergency transfer at that time. The document argues that the patient’s low blood pressure and recent medical history should have prompted an urgent evaluation.
By 11:33 a.m., Palm Beach County Fire Rescue personnel were dispatched. Paramedics documented lethargy, low oxygen saturation, and symptoms consistent with sepsis, according to the suit. Hicks was transported to the hospital and arrived at approximately 12:17 p.m., where he was described as unresponsive, hypotensive, and bradycardic. He was pronounced dead at 1:11 p.m., with septic shock and cardiac arrest listed as the diagnoses.
The complaint also challenges several nursing notes written later that day, asserting inconsistencies between staff documentation and statements made to paramedics about Hicks’ responsiveness earlier that morning. The lawsuit claims that appropriate vital-sign monitoring and timely escalation of care could have prevented the outcome.
Count I of the lawsuit brings a Chapter 400 claim against The Joseph L. Morse Health Center, alleging violations of residents’ rights under Florida law and asserting that the facility failed to provide adequate and appropriate health care. The filing states that the defendant’s responsibilities were non-delegable and that failures in staffing, supervision, and treatment contributed to Hicks’ death.
Count II names Lyn-Chinque under Chapter 766, alleging that the APRN deviated from the prevailing standard of care in evaluating and responding to Hicks’ symptoms. The plaintiff seeks damages exceeding $50,000, along with medical and funeral expenses and compensation for loss of companionship and mental pain and suffering.
The complaint lists the beneficiaries as the estate of Granville Hicks and his spouse, Patricia Hicks. No responses from the defendants were included in the filing.
The original document, as filed with the Palm Beach County Clerk of Court, can be viewed here.
