According to Philadelphia nursing home understaffing lawyers, residents of six Chicago nursing homes filed a class action lawsuit alleging damages from intentional understaffing. The complaint claims that Alden Group, a multi-site provider of health care and senior living services throughout Illinois, markets its services to attract residents to its facilities, but then intentionally understaffs those communities. The lawsuit alleges that the understaffing has led to preventable injuries and illness, unsanitary living conditions and resident neglect. Philadelphia nursing home understaffing lawyers examine how this case may serve as a warning shot to put the nursing home industry on notice regarding the practice of profiting from understaffing.
The plaintiffs in this case are residents who reside and receive care in Alden facilities. The facilities named include Alden Lakeland, Alden Terrace McHenry, Alden Town Manor, Alden Princeton Rehabilitation and Health Care Center, Alden Village North facilities, and Alden Heather Healthcare Center. They plaintiffs seek monetary damages and attorneys’ fees to remedy the unsafe conditions that Alden has created by understaffing its facilities. Attorneys for the plaintiffs have stated that they will be targeting “illegal admission agreements” that protect seniors from suing negligent nursing homes. Nursing home neglect lawyers claim that Alden has attempted to conceal its neglect through unfair business practices that violate the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act and the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.
The lawsuit claims that Alden financially preys off its residents by understaffing registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, certified nursing assistants, and other support staff. The complaint cites that most of the named nursing homes provided less than half of the hours of nursing care that its residents required between the years of 2018 – 2020. They claim that Alden shorted residents over 1 million nursing assistant hours and over 300,000 hours of licensed nurse care. They claim that Alden intentionally staffed significantly below minimum nursing hours in every Alden facility during that time to increase profits. The plaintiffs stated that understaffing resulted in dangerous conditions and resulted in preventable injuries and illnesses to residents.
According to plaintiffs, Alden lied to industry regulators about its staffing levels. They claim that that documents were falsified with “ghost staffing” to count employees in their staffing numbers that were not working at the time, or to count former employees that no longer worked at the company. This claim is ostensibly backed by some Alden employees.
According to Philadelphia nursing home neglect lawyers, falsification of records by the practice of “ghost staffing” is against regulations but has been alleged against several nursing homes throughout the country. Unscrupulous nursing homes may use this deceptive practice to bolster their staffing levels and receive better quality scores by regulators. Nursing homes who earn higher quality scores often tout their quality scores and staffing levels to attract potential residents into the facility.
Nursing home neglect lawyers working on the case state that legal action is necessary when nursing home owners and operators blatantly disregard their duties and cause harm to vulnerable older adults. Addressing negligence through litigation enables residents to hold providers liable for abusive practices. This class action lawsuit bands residents together to fight back against abuse that is systemic and intentional throughout the Alden facilities and individual claims would not fully address the issue.
In a statement to McKnights Long-Term Care News, Alden denied any and all allegations of wrongdoing. The company expressed their purported commitment to providing quality care and making well-being of their residents their top priority. They refused specific comments about the pending litigation.
If your loved one has suffered injury due to neglect at a nursing home, contact the Philadelphia nursing home neglect lawyers at the Wieand Law Firm LLC. Our lawyers are committed to holding negligent nursing home operators and owners liable when shoddy care and understaffing result in resident injury. Our attorneys will investigate your claim and help you understand the legal recourses available to you. We offer a free consultation to learn the specifics about your claim and discuss what the litigation process entails.
Many people are hesitant to contact an attorney because they worry about paying out-of-pocket lawyer fees. Our Philadelphia nursing home understaffing lawyers work on a contingency fee basis. This means that when we take your case, we only earn a fee if we win money for you. This allows our clients to focus on their recovery without the worry of affording the legal assistance they need. Call 215-666-7777 or send a message via the online form to connect directly with an attorney who can help.
