The New York Times has reported that a California nursing home fined by the state for substandard nursing care and facing many lawsuits has gone to the bankruptcy court to try to extinguish the burden of these fines and coming judgments. The nursing home faced many lawsuits filed by families on behalf of patients.
The nursing home company, North American Healthcare, which owns and operates 30 nursing homes in California and other Western states, was criticized for taking the bankruptcy route to avoid paying out judgments and verdicts brought by injured or killed nursing home residents.
In 2014, another California nursing home chain filed for bankruptcy for the same reason. Also in Florida, a bankruptcy judge forced Medicaid officials to continue paying a nursing home that was protected under its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
As America’s population grows older and increasing numbers of individuals are now residing in nursing homes both in Illinois and around the country, there has been a rise in nursing home abuse cases. As a result, it has been widely noted that bankruptcies in the nursing home industry have become more frequent. This may be an outgrowth of the rising number of lawsuits, judgments and jury verdicts that have been entered against nursing homes for nursing home abuse of all kinds and varieties.
In the case of North American, although it claimed to have been profitable, it seems to have been weighed down by the risk that the success of pending lawsuits would drive it out of business.
Lawyers who are serving families and individuals who have been injured or killed in nursing homes were critical of the bankruptcy filing. Lawyers have said the bankruptcy was the nursing home’s way of avoiding its obligations.
Most nursing home abuse cases come about because of nursing home resident neglect, poor care or even physical and mental abuse. It was noted in this Feb. 18, 2015 New York Times article that nursing home industry experts criticized the bankruptcy filing in the face of accusations that the nursing home provided poor quality of care.
Kreisman Law Offices has been handling nursing home abuse cases and elderly abuse cases for individuals and families who have been harmed, injured or died as a result of the carelessness or negligence of a medical provider for more than 38 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Elmwood Park, Melrose Park, Maywood, Brookfield, Justice, Hickory Hills, Palos Park, Worth, Countryside, Country Club Hills, Bensenville, Franklin Park, Frankfurt, Park Ridge, Oak Park, Chicago (Marquette Park, Lawndale, Garfield Park, Austin, Montclaire, Belmont Heights, Portage Park, Wicker Park, West Town, Bridgeport, Bronzeville, Englewood, Chatham, Burnside, Pullman), Palos Hills, Lemont, Joliet and Elgin, Ill.
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