Boston Injury Lawyer Blog
A nursing home in Brockton is under fire for racking up multiple health and safety violations while the owners extracted $1.8 million in pay last year. Braemoor Health Center is owned by parent company, Synergy Health Centers, which owns a total of 11 nursing homes. Concerns about Synergy-owned centers have begun to emerge, including complaints about medication errors, inadequate training of staff, and improper treatment of festering pressure sores. When Synergy entered the Massachusetts market in 2012, it had no previous record of owning nursing homes. Today, it presides over the care of more than 1,200 residents in the state. Contact a Boston Nursing Home Negligence Attorney Today.
According to a Globe investigation, Synergy provided false information in its nursing home license applications. Even though there were federal tax liens against the Braemoor property in 2013 and 2014, Synergy stated that all taxes were paid up on the application for licensure.
Braemoor Nursing Home Owner Has Arrest Record
In addition, Larry Lipschutz, owner of the Braemoor property and part owner of eight more Synergy nursing homes, has an arrest record. The native New Yorker received fines in the tens of thousands of dollars for a New Jersey apartment complex that he owned and ran into the ground. Ralph Caputo, a New Jersey state Assemblyman who assisted tenants with lobbying for repairs spoke about the severity of the situation. “There were broken windows, flooded areas, rats. It was unbelievable,” said Caputo. During a March 2004 inspection of the property, state inspectors cited Lipschutz for approximately 1,400 violations. He was arrested after pleading guilty to the violations. Lipschutz received $49,369 in fines, but state regulators offered to cut those fines in half if he addressed the problems. According to New Jersey Department of Community Affairs records, he has only paid $3,000 and has neglected to fix the problems.
Two former Synergy staff members have alleged that the company purchased a suite at Gillette Stadium for $25,000 in 2013. “It really offended me because I had to do battle to get basic nursing supplies,” remarked one of the former staffers. During that same time period, Synergy began purchasing lower-quality adult diapers and less fresh fruit at its facility in Sunderland. In addition, the same facility was cited for more than a dozen violations.
Altman & Altman, LLP – Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Attorneys
The choice to put a loved one in a nursing home is often an emotional and challenging process. You put your trust in the staff and hope that they have the best interest of your loved one’s well-being in mind at all times. When a nursing home values profits more than the health and safety of its residents, it should be held accountable. Synergy been cited with multiple health and safety violations, and evidence shows that the company lied on multiple applications. If a loved one has been the victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, it is in your best interest to contact an experienced personal injury attorney immediately. The knowledgeable, compassionate legal team at Altman & Altman, LLP has been protecting the rights of nursing home abuse and neglect victims for over 50 years. Contact us today for a free consultation about your case.
