(The Center Square) — The California attorney general filed a lawsuit against a San Diego County-based nursing facility chain on grounds of patient neglect and failure to meet minimum staffing levels.
The suit accuses Sweetwater Care, a nursing facility chain in Carlsbad, of committing more than 25,000 violations of minimum staffing levels.
Attorney General Rob Bonta filed the lawsuit after an investigation by the California Department of Justice’s Division of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse.
The suit said the department discovered the company had violated California’s Unfair Competition Law by understaffing its facilities despite receiving large amounts of money from Medi-Cal. Bonta took legal action against Sweetwater, claiming the company’s patients were being harmed by its unfair practices.
“Sweetwater and its skilled nursing facilities violated the law and betrayed the trust of communities by failing to safeguard the health and safety of its residents,” Bonta said in a press release.
California has laws to protect patients at nursing facilities such as minimum staffing laws, direct care service hour requirements, and many more that are listed in the lawsuit. The state’s suit said the investigation found Sweetwater was violating many California laws about skilled nursing facilities and harming its patients for the sake of profit.
According to the state, the investigation discovered Sweetwater committed over 25,000 violations of California staffing laws between 2020 and 2024.
However, it was collecting Medi-Cal payments that totaled up to over $196 million through the end of 2023, according to the lawsuit.
The alleged violations of California staffing laws were discovered from reports filed by patients for neglect. Some reports involve injuries such as “fractured bones that went days without assessment or medical care,” “unwitnessed falls,” and “medical emergencies that were not timely assessed or responded to,” the California DOJ press release stated.
“Our vulnerable patients deserve dignity, safety and high-quality care,” Bonta said June 24 in a post on X.
Bonta said the state had the responsibility to protect its patients and, therefore, filed a lawsuit against Sweetwater.
“The California Department of Justice will step in whenever the well-being of patients is at stake,” Bonta said. “With today’s lawsuit, we are holding Sweetwater accountable for breaking the law by understaffing its facilities and leaving residents vulnerable to serious neglect and injuries. No one is above the law, and our vulnerable patients deserve nothing less than dignity, safety, and high-quality care.”
The investigation also found that “Sweetwater’s facilities and corporate leadership” were aware that the company was operating with below minimum staffing levels, “yet chose to continue these practices,” the California DOJ said.
Instead of hiring more nurses, Sweetwater “extracted over $31 million as ‘profit’ or ‘management fees,’” the DOJ said.
In accordance with California’s Unfair Competition Law, Sweetwater is liable for a civil penalty of up to $2,500 for each violation. The penalty will be doubled if the violation was perpetrated against an elderly or disabled person.
The California Unfair Competition Law also states that if a suit is filed by the attorney general, one-half of the penalty collected will be paid to the treasurer of the county in which the judgment was entered, in this case San Diego County. The rest will be paid to the state’s general fund.
As of press time, Sweetwater hadn’t issued a statement about the suit on its website.
