Former Nursing Home Owners To Pay $110k Settlement for Inadequate Care

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(Newswire.net — May 11, 2021) — Research unfortunately indicates that nursing home abuse is becoming more common in the United States. Those whose loved ones reside in nursing homes must familiarize themselves with the signs of abuse so they can put a stop to it when it occurs.

Coordinating with nursing home abuse lawyers in these circumstances is often a wise decision. Although nursing home abuse ideally won’t happen as often in the future if regulators are more vigilant, historically, attorneys have proven to at least help victims of nursing home abuse recover compensation for their mistreatment.

Consider a recent example involving the former owners of Sweet Brook Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Williamstown, Massachusetts. After a series of allegations regarding poor conditions and mistreatment at the facility were made by several parties, in April 2019, Massachusetts’ Department of Public Health notified the facility’s owners that its license to operate was in jeopardy. For some, this marked the official beginning of a legal battle that finally resolved earlier this year.

The nature of the alleged mistreatment victims experienced at Sweet Brook is wide-ranging. Multiple reports indicate some residents with diminished mental capacity were forced to engage in sexual activity with workers. Other residents were left in soiled diapers for extended periods of time. Some residents were also the victims of financial abuse, a common but often overlooked form of nursing home abuse. Financial abuse is frequently overlooked in part because those who commit it may coerce victims into giving them money instead of directly stealing from them.

Those are merely a few examples. By the time the Massachusetts Department of Public Health took action, Sweet Brook was considered to be among the bottom one percent of nursing homes in the state. Additionally, even before the Department of Public Health began pursuing justice, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services blocked Sweet Brook from admitting new residents and patients.

Those responsible for allowing such abuses to occur and continue no longer own the facility. It was sold at auction to Oxford Finance in November 2020. However, in April of this year, the former owners of Sweet Brook reached a settlement with the state, agreeing to pay $110,000.

This is a slightly unique case when compared to some instances of nursing home abuse. Often, individual victims of nursing home abuse (typically with the help of their families) can seek compensation for their own losses by working with a qualified personal injury attorney. However, because the abuse at Sweet Brook was so widespread, in this instance, the owners settled with the state instead of compensating victims directly.

Anyone who suspects nursing home abuse is occurring elsewhere should immediately take action, moving their loved ones out of the facilities where the suspected abuse may be taking place. They should also alert local law enforcement, call the attorney general’s Medicaid Fraud Division at 617-963-2360, submit a complaint through their state’s Department of Public Health website, and seek counsel from an attorney who specializes in these types of cases.

It’s also worth noting that even if a nursing home resident denies being the victim of abuse, they may be lying out of fear, they may not remember the abuse occurring, or they may not even realize what they’ve experienced constitutes abuse.