Long-Term Care

The healthcare industry faces an alarming increase in the number of “elder abuse” claims against long-term care facilities, acute care facilities, and individual physicians.

This crisis is particularly severe for skilled nursing facilities, residential care facilities for the elderly, and other facilities dedicated to providing care and treatment to elder and dependent care patients. Lewis Brisbois' Long-Term Care Practice lawyers are both knowledgeable and appreciative of the unique issues faced by one of the most regulated and scrutinized industries in the United States and have successfully represented the interests of facilities operated by large multi-state and regional management companies, as well as by individual owners.

Lewis Brisbois has one of the largest Long-Term Care Practice in the United States, with lawyers located in many of our nationwide offices. Our lawyers successfully defend the interests of healthcare professionals, and we provide extensive resources and access to well-qualified specialists in the many healthcare disciplines, e.g., skilled nursing, facility administration, geriatrics, wound care, infectious disease, orthopedic, etc. We have immediate access to specialists with unique experience in providing care and treatment to elderly and dependent adult patients. Our lawyers have also effectively promoted the interest of the long-term healthcare industry at the appellate level.

We regularly provide accredited elder abuse litigation continuing education seminars for lawyers and develop in-service programs for staff members of skilled nursing facilities throughout the country. We have unique experience in responding to Department of Health Services citations, minimizing the admissibility of citation contents, as well as statements of deficiencies and annual surveys in civil actions. Most importantly, our lawyers offer a unique understanding of the challenges facing the long-term care industry and are committed to the representation of owners and operators, administrators and staff members of skilled nursing facilities in effectively responding to allegations pursued by plaintiff lawyers. Our lawyers have served as lead counsel on thousands of high-exposure cases, including binding arbitration, mediation and trial.

COVID-19-Related Matters

As healthcare providers and long-term care clients continue to grapple with the impacts of COVID-19, our lawyers stand ready to advise on the practical and legal implications of the outbreak. We offer counsel regarding the application of the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and are leading the national conversation with our law and motion and appellate strategy to secure this governmental immunity for our clients.

In addition, our attorneys regularly provide clients with current information on changes at the federal and state level that impact healthcare facilities, including convalescent and skilled nursing care facilities, acute care hospitals, free standing clinics, and surgery centers, as well as the healthcare professionals who work in these settings, including medical doctors, osteopathic physicians, dentists, psychologists, therapists, physician assistants, and nurses. We also assist clients with managing new admissions, visitation by family and others, employee-related issues, and all other aspects of healthcare and long-term care.