Life Care Centers of America Charged With Manslaughter - UPDATE
We discussed the tragic situation involving Julia McCauley in our previous blogs. Recall, Julia McCauley died on August 17, 2004 after rolling her wheelchair out the front door of Life Care Center of Acton and tumbling down a flight of stairs. She was not wearing a physician-prescribed WanderGuard bracelet, which was designed to lock doors and set of an alarm if Ms. McCauley wandered too close.
This case involving Life Care Centers of America is set for trial on March 9, 2009, in Middlesex Superior Court. The corporation has been charged with manslaughter and neglect of a long-term facility resident. Life Care Center officials deny any wrongdoing and argue that although what happened was a tragedy, it was an unfortunate accident in a long-term care facility striving to provide the best possible care. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley believes Ms. McCauley's death would have been avoided had she been wearing her doctor-ordered bracelet.
Life Care operates more than 200 facilities in 28 states. In 2005, the company paid $2.5 million to resolve allegations of billing Medicare and Medicaid for services that were not provided or were useless to the residents of a Lawrenceville, Georgia facility. The Acton, Massachusetts facility has been fined in the past for various deficiencies. In 2005, the facility was fined $2,112 and in 2006, the facility was fined $11,147. In July 2007, the facility was hit with $164,000 for deficiencies that jeopardized resident safety. Those fines were later rescinded after a more extensive investigation.
