California Nursing Home Pays $15 Million for “Negligent Care” of Patients

Mariner Health Care Inc., a large California nursing facility, has recently reached a settlement for $15.5 million over allegations of illegal understaffing leading to negligent care and serious mistreatment of patients.

Mariner Health owns over 19 skilled nursing facilities across California. The settlement named all 19 facilities. Five of the facilities were accused of being understaffed, according to the complaint.

According to the 2021 complaint, negligent care related to understaffing led to one patient having a limb amputated. The complaint also raised issues concerning the spread of infectious diseases including lice. Facilities also had a large number of pests on the premises. There were a high number of unreported sexual assault cases, among other issues.

Mariner is also alleged to have falsified staffing numbers to government regulators in an attempt to improve their published ratings.

The settlement

The settlement resolves allegations filed by Attorney General Rob Bonta and District Attorneys of Alameda, Los Angeles, Marin, and Santa Cruz counties, alleging that Mariner violated California’s Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law by understaffing its facilities and subjecting patients to negligent care while inflating their skilled nursing facilities’ ratings to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

As part of the settlement, Mariner is required to:

Reform and improve its practices and services for residents in their skilled nursing facilities
Hire an independent monitor for no less than 3 years
Pay $2.25 million in costs and up to $15.5 million in civil restitution

The California Department of Justice’s Division of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse protects California residents by investigating and prosecuting cases in which healthcare providers defraud the Medi-Cal program as well as those who commit elder abuse.

Understanding nursing home abuse lawsuits

Staffing and, more specifically, understaffing remains a critical issue for California nursing homes. Understaffing remains a key allegation in the vast majority of nursing home abuse lawsuits filed in the state. Regulators are attempting to close the gap in terms of staffing by passing staffing requirements that would require a specific ratio of nurses to residents. These efforts will help maintain the standard of care in nursing homes and ensure the safety of residents.

Find a nursing home abuse lawyer in California

If you or a loved one has been injured in a nursing home, chances are very good that you can file a lawsuit against the nursing home provider. Such injuries stemming from nursing home abuse cases are almost always serious, generally life-altering, and sometimes fatal. In the case mentioned above, a resident was required to have a limb amputated because the nursing staff did not recognize a serious infection in time. This result was completely avoidable.

The Oakland personal injury lawyers at Venardi Zurada represent the interests of those who have suffered preventable medical outcomes as a result of nursing home neglect. Call our office today to schedule a consultation, and we can begin investigating your claims right away.

Sources:

kron4.com/news/california/california-nursing-home-ordered-to-pay-15m-for-negligent-care-of-patients/

oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-announces-settlement-mariner-health-misrepresenting-0