Bay Area Nursing Home Settles with Prosecutors Over Neglect and Abuse

A California company operating 10 nursing homes in and around the Bay Area recently settled a lawsuit filed by local county prosecutors and the State of California alleging it neglected the medical care and hygiene needs of vulnerable patients and exposed them to physical and sexual assault.

According to the settlement, Mariner Health Care agreed to pay $15.5 million if it fails to abide by terms related to patient safety and staffing levels. According to a statement made by the office of Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, the company neither admitted nor denied any wrongdoing.

According to a press release by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, “Understaffing left residents vulnerable, and the inadequate care resulted in unnecessary amputations, the spread of diseases such as lice and pests among residents, and a high number of unreported sexual assault cases, among other issues.”

In 2021, California’s Division of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse, and the district attorneys of Alameda, Marin, Santa Cruz, and Los Angeles counties sued all of Mariner’s 19 nursing homes in California and the company’s corporate management. According to the allegations, Mariner “understaffed facilities leading to resident harm,” and “unsafely discharged residents from the facilities.”

According to the lawsuit, Mariner also submitted false staffing numbers to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to inflate their rating on the agency’s Five-Star Quality Rating System for nursing homes. The nursing home was further accused of allowing too many falls, infected bedsores, and infections.

In October 2021, a California jury awarded $10 million in punitive damages to five residents and five family members of patients who died at Mariner’s Parkview Healthcare Center nursing home in Hayward. The nursing home in Hayward has since been shuttered. The lawsuit claimed that the problems were rooted in staffing shortfalls. The jury found that the facility and Mariner were responsible for the deaths and abuse of their patients. At least 111 residents caught the COVID-19 virus at the height of the pandemic. 18 of those patients died.

According to the settlement, Mariner must discharge patients in accordance with state and federal laws requiring discharge plans and timely written notification of impending discharges. They must also report abuse and neglect and provide adequate staffing for patients. The company must also refrain from providing “false, inflated, or misleading information” to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The allegations surrounding these particular nursing homes are not unusual. When nursing homes fail to provide the prevailing standard of care for their patients, and patients are injured as a result of that substandard care, grieving families and injured patients can sue the nursing home to recover damages.

Talk to an Oakland, CA Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Today 

Venardi Zurada represents the interests of Oakland residents who have family members who have been abused in nursing homes. Call our Oakland personal injury lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin investigating your claims right away. We serve the Bay Area from our office locations in Oakland and Walnut Creek.

Source:

siliconvalley.com/2024/03/20/amputations-sexual-assault-lice-bay-area-nursing-home-operator-settles-with-counties-state/