Megan Stowers presented a seminar for lawyers across the country entitled “Nursing Home Failure of Care Litigation” for the National Business Institute. The seminar took place on June 5, 2014.
Megan’s presentation covered the Affordable Care Act as it relates to nursing home regulation. The Affordable Care Act includes the Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act, which aims at improving the quality of care in nursing homes that participate in Medicare and Medicaid. The Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act is the first comprehensive legislation since Congress passed the Nursing Home Reform Act, contained in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (“OBRA”) in 1987. OBRA created a comprehensive set of reforms to nursing home regulations, which constitute the minimum requirements a nursing home must meet in order to qualify to participate in the Medicare program. When litigating nursing home injury and wrongful death cases, the regulations can be used in determining the minimum standard of care.
The Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act sets forth several provisions aimed at improving nursing homes, much like the federal OBRA regulations. In her presentation, Megan highlighted a number of the new provisions pertaining to nursing homes and how these provisions may be used in nursing home failure of care litigation. For example, the Affordable Care Act requires nursing homes to provide detailed disclosures regarding ownership and organizational structures in an effort to combat evasive corporate structures. The disclosure of the ownership information helps determine which entities are responsible for the operation of the nursing home.
As part of her presentation, Megan also discussed the location and use key case-supporting documentation and ethical dilemmas the legal profession faces when handling nursing home litigation cases.
Megan and the Kosieradzki • Smith Law Firm represent clients in cases involving catastrophic injury caused by wrongdoers, including nursing homes and other care facilities that fail to provide proper care. If you believe you or your loved one has been harmed by another’s wrongful conduct, take action and contact the Kosieradzki • Smith Law Firm online or call us toll-free at (877) 552-2873 to set up a no-cost, no-obligation consultation.
