Adult Homes / Assisted Living Facilities

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Williamson & Lavecchia, L.C.
6800 Paragon Place
Suite 233
Richmond, VA 23230-1652

Phone: (804) 288-1661
Fax: (804) 282-1766

News
* GAO Report Finds Nursing Home Inspectors Miss Serious Violations
* WIlliamson & Lavecchia, L.C. Welcomes Legal Nurse Consultant Wendy Moore
* Williamson & Lavecchia, L.C. Launches Spanish Website
* New York Times Exposes Nursing Homes Placing Profit of Patient Care
* Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Underreported
* Maggots Found In Patient's Ear
* Carolyn Lavecchia Recognized as One of the Top Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Virginia
* Virginia Nursing Home Loses Medicare/Medicaid Certification
* Carolyn Lavecchia Named Fellow of American Academy of Trial Counsel
* Abuse and Neglect of Elderly Rampant In Nursing Home Industry
* New Orleans Euthanasia Cases Come to Light
* Federal Settlements with Virginia Nursing Homes
* 19 Nursing Home Employees Arrested After Being Caught on Hidden Cameras Neglecting Patients
* Washington Post article about the tragic death of our client's sister who died because of a lack of heat at a Richmond assisted living facility
* Virginia To Increase Penalties Against Assisted Living Facilities
Contact

Please contact us for further inquries.

Adult Homes

Adult homes are facilities for residents who need assistance in taking care of their day-to-day needs (bathing, meal preparation, dressing, etc) and their health care. They are known by numerous titles ranging from rest homes to assisted living facilities to residential living facilities.

In Virginia they are loosely regulated by the Department of Social Services. Unlike nursing homes, they are not subject to federal regulations. They are not even required to have nurses in the facility.

The Washington Post published a four day front page series on the abuse and neglect of residents in assisted living facilities in Virginia. Two of the articles focused on our clients. One client resided in a Richmond facility that was not properly heated. She died of complications of hypothermia (low body temperature). When she was taken to the hospital her body temperature had dropped to 84 degrees. Our investigation revealed that the facility had previously been cited by the Department of Social Services for unheated rooms. We interviewed and took depositions of staff members who testified that the adult home was so cold they worked in coats and thermal underwear. The owner locked the thermostat to keep the employees from warming up the facility.

In another case we represented a man who was locked in a third floor unit of an assisted living facility without the consent of his family or a qualified physician's certification that he required a locked unit. The facility was previous cited for failing to secure the windows. He suffered a broken back and a punctured lung after falling from a third floor window.

You are invited to read more about these cases in the case results section of our website.

Unfortunately, despite the widespread incidents of abuse and neglect in Virginia's assisted living facilities, there are very few criminal prosecutions. The Washington Post reported that very few of the 4400 cases of elder abuse, neglect, or exploitation reported since 1996 have resulted in prosecutions. In fact, the Washington Post investigation found only 44 cases of prosecutions under Virginia's elder abuse statute from 1994 to 2002 and those cases were not necessarily in assisted living facilities.

We welcome you to contact us to discuss your legal options if you believe a loved has been a victim of abuse or neglect at an assisted living facility.

Library for Adult Homes:

  • Types of Assisted Care Facilities   
    Description: Adults who need full-time health care are usually placed in nursing homes. Nursing homes are subject to much stricter federal and state regulations than adult homes and must be staffed with nurses. Nursing homes fall under the jurisdiction of the Virginia Department of Health. The state inspectors make announced and unnannounced visits to nursing homes.

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