Nursing Home Shell Game

North Carolinians who have experienced the nursing home abuse or neglect (or wrongful death) may be interested to know that nursing home cases/lawsuits are unusual in many ways, but particularly with regard to the element of "business law" that comes into play due to nursing home chains' attempts to avoid liability by setting up complex corporate structures. To be more specific, in order to avoid ultimate liability, larger nursing home chains are commonly taking all assets out of the actual licensed facility corporation/entity. For example, a separate corporation, affiliated with the nursing home chain, owns that real estate (building and land) from which the nursing home operates. That nursing home affiliate then leases the real estate to another “holding” company who then sub leases the nursing home real estate to an operating company that holds the license with a state such as North Carolina. Also, the “holding” company hires other corporations to provide virtually all the services, equipment and other facilities necessary to run the nursing home. In some cases, these outside companies are merely companies the nursing home chain has itself set up, and which it runs itself. The actual operating nursing home facility will pay rent, equipment leases, and charges for management and other services, and the money flows up to the top. Often all significant profits are “drained” up the ladder in this way by charges that are significantly above market value. It is a sort of “money laundering” used to squeeze everything possible out of the licensed facitlity (which will be the most clear target of any nursing home abuse or neglect (or wrongful death) lawsuit. These types of schemes make handling these cases much more difficult; but the web can indeed be unraveled by a tenacious and dedicated nursing home abuse and neglect (or wrongful death) attorney. Once unraveled, the possibility of actually being able to collect a judgment from a nursing home abuse or neglect lawsuit is increased. If you are in North Carolina and have a loved one who has been injured or killed through the abuse or neglect of a nursing home, feel free to contact my office for a free consultation.