Life Care Center Faces Manslaughter Charges
Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 395
On the morning of Aug. 17, 2004, Julia McCauley, 74, rolled her wheelchair out the front doors of the Life Care Center of Acton, and tumbled down a flight of stairs. She died a short time later. McCauley was not wearing a doctor-prescribed WanderGuard bracelet designed to set off an alarm and lock the doors if she got too close to the exit.
Attorney General Martha Coakley believes that McCauley’s death could have been avoided had she been wearing her electronic bracelet and that the nursing home’s parent company, Life Care Centers of America, should be held responsible.
The corporation is charged with Manslaughter and neglect of a long-term care facility resident.
However, Life Care Center officials claim that “McCauley’s death, though a tragedy, was an unfortunate accident in a long-term care facility striving to provide the best possible care.”
They also say that prosecuting the corporation will cause a backlash against nursing homes, hospitals, and healthcare facilities where accidents inevitably occur.
Rob Alderman, Life Care’s director public relations said, “Julia McCauley was a beloved member of our community and a part of our family. At the end of the day, her death was an accident, not a crime. We are looking forward very much to having out good name cleared.”
Life Care operates more than 200 facilities in 28 states. The Acton facility where McCauley was a resident had been the target of state and federal fines in the past. In 2005 the facility was fined $2,112 and again in December 2006 fined $11,147 for various deficiencies found during routine state checks. In July 2007, state and federal regulators imposed fines totaling more than $164,000, which were eventually rescinded after a more extensive investigation.
Attorney General Coakley held a press conference last week to announce her support for legislation to increase the maximum fine for a corporation convicted of manslaughter from $1,000, which was enacted in 1819, to $250,000. Even if the Legislature approves the change in law, it would not apply to the Life Care case.
In the past we have blogged about similar tragedies occurring at nursing homes. Accidents, such as Mrs. McCauley’s, occur much too often. Regardless of the fact that she was a “beloved member” of the Life Care Center’s community, this was an accident that could have easily been avoided. I am pleased to see the criminal prosecutor pursuing the protection of the elderly by holding this company accountable.