The lawsuit, filed September 21 in Orange County Superior Court, claims that Blythe Post Acute and the other 10 facilities conceived and implemented a plan to "wrongfully increase business profits at the expense of the health of residents."
It was filed on behalf of Robert Garcia, a former resident at one of the other nursing homes, by Garcia, Artigliere & Medby, a Long Beach, Calif., law firm representing victims of nursing home and elder abuse. The lawsuit includes more than 3,000 members who have complaints against the 11 facilities.
The law firm is also seeking an injunction, which would require the defendants to properly maintain staffing levels in accordance with the law.
The nursing facilities listed in the complaint are Meridian Management Services, LLC; Intelex Enterprises, LLC; Office Smart, LLC; MMS Hesperia, LLC; MMS Green Tree, LLC; Bay View Rehabilitation Hospital, LLC; Blythe Post Acute, LLC; Country Crest, LLC; Knolls West Post Acute, LLC; and Spring Valley Post Acute, LLC.
Officials at Blythe Post Acute, which used to be Blythe Nursing Care Center and Rehabilitation Services but was sold in the last six months to Blythe Post Acute, declined to comment on the lawsuit.
"Mr. Garcia and more than 3,000 patients were fleeced and treated as if they were inanimate objects undeserving of the medical attention that the law mandated they receive," said attorney Stephen Garcia. "The infirmed had no idea of the substandard living conditions that existed at these facilities and no doubt would have sought care elsewhere if they had known they were at risk."
The complaint alleges that for more than four years, the defendants and their licensees defrauded their residents by engaging in malicious and oppressive business practices to wrongfully increase profits at the expense of patients.
Each facility was underfunded and understaffed solely for the purpose of financial gain and failed to provide the proper health, care and attention that the residents paid for, according to the complaint.
It notes that for more than four years, Robert Garcia and more than 3,000 patients were the victims of financial abuse by not receiving the proper services paid for. Even more egregious was that their lives were placed in jeopardy.
As an example of the defendants' disregard for the welfare of the patients, in the last few years, each facility paid the defendants as much as $1 million for nursing supplies and office supplies, but received little or nothing in return, said the complaint. Instead, the money was used to benefit the defendants.
"Despite repeatedly being cited by the Department of Public Health for deficiencies, the defendants continued to be non-compliant and take advantage of the most vulnerable segment of our society," said Garcia, the attorney.
Full Article & Source:
Class action lawsuit filed against Blythe Post Acute
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