SNF Residents Sue Maryland Health Department for Failing to Conduct Inspections

A group of nursing home residents in Maryland filed a class action lawsuit against the state health department for failing to meet requirements calling for annual inspections of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), McKnights Long-Term Care News recently reported.

“To our knowledge, this is the first lawsuit against a state to force the state to conduct annual inspection surveys and investigate complaints related to nursing home residents,” said Liam McGivern, a senior litigation attorney at Justice in Aging, in the McKnights Long-Term Care News article. “We’re aware of similar problems in other states, so this lawsuit could lead to similar efforts elsewhere.”

The complaint contends that the Maryland Department of Health violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as another federal statute, by failing to exercise routine oversight of SNFs, leaving residents “vulnerable to neglect and mistreatment,” the article quoted from the lawsuit. “Plaintiffs have suffered and continue to suffer personal degradation and significant physical and psychosocial harm as a result of Defendants’ failures.”

More than 70% of SNFs in Maryland do not have annual inspections, according to the lawsuit. Five anonymous residents filed the lawsuit in mid-May in US District Court. The Public Justice Center and Justice in Aging are representing the residents.

Maryland has a history of overdue inspections. In 2002, a federal watchdog agency reported surveys were “less systematic than originally planned” because of staff cutbacks, McKnights Long-Term Care News reported. Two decades later in 2022, Maryland reportedly led the nation in inspection delays, with 1021 days, or almost 34 months, between standard nursing home surveys.

Reference

Marselas K. First-of-its-kind resident lawsuit targets state health department’s late nursing home inspections. McKnights Long-Term Care News. May 20, 2024. Accessed May 21, 2024. https://www.mcknights.com/news/first-of-its-kind-resident-lawsuit-targets-state-health-departments-late-nursing-home-inspections/