A group of nursing home residents in Maryland has filed the first known lawsuit seeking to compel a state to meet requirements that it inspect all of its skilled nursing facilities at least annually.
The class action suit against the Maryland Department of Health alleges that state officials are violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and a lesser known federal statute by failing to hold nursing homes accountable through routine oversight.
“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,” Liam McGivern, a senior litigation attorney at Justice in Aging, told McKnight’s Long-Term Care News Friday. “We’re aware of similar problems in other states, so this lawsuit could lead to similar efforts elsewhere.”
