The seniors living in its facilities “routinely have to wait hours for food, assistance with toileting, changing of soiled bed linens, and other elements of basic care, and sometimes must forego them entirely,” according to the OAG.
In addition, the OAG alleged that Golden Living generated billing statements for care that was not provided for its residents.
Furthermore, the OAG accused the nursing home chain of deceiving the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) regarding its levels of care by increasing the number of staff on hand during DOH inspections and by willfully creating inaccurate and/or falsifying resident care records for review.
In 2017, the Commonwealth Court dismissed the OAG’s lawsuit citing the reason that the nursing home chain’s statement’s were “mere puffery.” It also precluded the OAG from pursuing its unjust enrichment claim because there is a statutory remedy under the Human Services Code.
The OAG appealed the decision of the Commonwealth Court to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. In May, Executive Deputy Attorney General Jonathan Scott Goldman presented the OAG’s argument on the case.
Significant victory for Pennsylvania seniors
In its ruling this week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court concluded th Commonwealth Court made a mistake in its decision regarding the OAG’s UTPCPL claims against the nursing home claim. It reversed the lower court’s ruling and remanded it back for further proceeding.
