$4 Million
Settlement
Mass Torts
$203 Million
Class Action
Financial Services
$75 Million
Class Action
Mass Torts
$200 Million
Class Action
Product Liability
Abuse of Elders and People with Disabilities at Brightspring Health Services Group Homes, Owned by KKR
McCune Law Group, (MLG) is investigating the need to bring legal action against KKR over the allegedly abysmal living conditions and abuse at BrightSpring Health Services group homes across the country. As a group home that serves elders and people with severe disabilities that prevent them from caring for themselves and living independently, KKR has entered into contracts that require them to provide a clean, safe, and satisfactory place to live for its residents. Unfortunately, reports claim KKR has not taken their duty seriously, resulting in continuing horrific conditions and alleged abuse.
Complaints Allege Horrible Conditions and Abuse at Brightspring Health Services Group Homes
BrightSpring purports to provide a safe home for individuals with severe disabilities that are entirely unable to care for themselves. Many patients require care 24 hours a day and are unable to perform basic functions like using the bathroom, getting dressed, or even getting out of bed.
In 2019, KKR purchased BrightSpring Health Services for $1.3 billion. Thereafter, according to an investigation by Buzzfeed News, living conditions significantly worsened because of cost cutting measures which were so severe that providing appropriate care to residents became virtually impossible. In fact, according to this BuzzFeed News analysis, though KKR owned a mere 16% of the group homes in the seven states analyzed, these locations were responsible for 40% of the serious state citations issued to care facilities. In July 2020, conditions were allegedly so dire at West Virginia’s BrightSpring homes that the state banned the facilities from accepting new residents.
If your loved one has suffered from a lack of appropriate care or abuse while in one of the BrightSpring homes anywhere in the country, contact us today by completing the form to learn more about your legal rights.
Residents Are Allegedly Suffering from Lack of Care
Patients’ families and ex-employees of BrightSpring allege that facilities all over the country cut caregiver pay to far less than competing facilities, resulting in a mass exodus of staff. This lack of adequate staffing meant residents were left without proper care. Reports claim BrightSpring homes residents suffered overt abuse, missed important or life-saving medication doses, were allowed access to dangerous items without supervision, and were actively denied medical care for broken bones and even poisoning. Allegedly, this abandonment and lack of care proved fatal in some cases.
If your loved one is a resident at one of the BrightSpring group homes nationwide and has received poor or no adequate care or was a victim of abuse, you could be eligible for legal recourse. Contact us today by completing the form.
KKR Allegedly Shows Little Remorse
KKR has a concerning track record of purchasing companies, only to drive them into the ground by stripping companies of their assets and walking away with the profits. In fact, this private equity firm, or corporate raider as they have been called is responsible for the looting and death of many U.S. corporate icons, including RJR Nabisco and Toys “R” Us. Upon closing the deal to buyout BrightSpring, the firm took out $1.1 billion in loans by putting BrightSpring’s assets up as collateral, leaving BrightSpring saddled with $135 million in new interest payments and garnering millions in fees for KKR.
As a caregiving company that was already struggling before the buyout, these added overhead costs allegedly further drove down caregiver wages and caused worsening conditions in the homes nationwide. Despite the allegedly catastrophic living conditions at BrightSpring homes, KKR continues to move further into the healthcare and caregiving industry by purchasing Emergency room departments, nursing homes, and other necessary healthcare services that depend on adequate care to ensure their patients remain healthy and safe.
If your loved one lives in a BrightSpring facility, and has suffered inadequate care, or suffered abuse as a resident, you could have legal options. Contact us by filling out the form today to learn more!
Over $1 Billion Recovered for Injured Clients
It takes experience and commitment to succeed in the complex field of personal injury law, and that is the level of counsel found at McCune Law Group. Our attorney are leaders and have consistently won large verdicts and settlements for our clients. In fact, we have recovered over $1 billion across our practice areas for the injured and wronged. With a personal injury attorney from McCune Law Group on you can rest assured that we are doing everything we can to make sure you and your family are fully compensated for your losses and that wrongdoers are held accountable for their actions.
Attorneys Handling this Case
Elaine S. Kusel
Elaine S. Kusel joined the firm in 2008 and leads the firm’s New Jersey office. As a nationally-renowned class action attorney, she performs a significant role in the firm’s Consumer Fraud Class Action division.
After college, Ms. Kusel spent eight years working in the U.S. House of Representatives, where she eventually served as Legislative Director and Counsel to a Member of Congress serving on the House Commerce Committee.
After graduating from law school, her practice had included fraud litigation, mass torts, and international human rights law. In one notable case, Abdullahi v. Pfizer, Ms. Kusel represented Nigerian children enrolled in a clinical trial by Pfizer without their families’ informed consent. In another, Gutierrez v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., her work helped secure a $203 million-dollar class action verdict for unfair bank overdraft fees. Ms. Kusel helped to lead the effort to uncover the financial fraud of Volkswagen, leading to a $40 million-dollar settlement on behalf of the citizens of the State of Arizona in the emissions fraud scandal.
Steven J. Weinberg
Steven J. Weinberg is an accomplished trial lawyer specializing in Nursing Home & Elder Abuse, Wrongful Death, Personal Injury, Product Liability, and Medical Malpractice. A 1975 graduate of Pepperdine University School of Law, and previously University of California Los Angeles, Mr. Weinberg has focused his legal career on cases involving personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice, and nursing home abuse. He serves as the managing attorney of the McCune Law Group Coachella Valley office, and will lead in the practice areas of medical malpractice and nursing home abuse cases.
During his time as a practicing lawyer, Mr. Weinberg has tried over 100 cases. He worked in three law offices after graduating from law school, and eventually founded his own practice in 1988. He worked in his own office until joining the McCune Law Group team in 2019.
Mr. Weinberg has achieved multiple professional recognitions throughout his years as a lawyer, including maintaining an AV rating since 1979, multiple listings by the Super Lawyers organization, and recognition by the Consumer Attorneys of California for his excellence in professional liability, product liability, and general negligence litigation. In 2021, Mr. Weinberg was named by TopVerdict as the successful litigator on one of 2020’s Top 20 Wrongful Death Settlements in California and one of 2020’s Top 50 Medical Malpractice Settlements in the United States. He has also been named by Best Lawyers© as one of the country’s Best Personal Injury Litigation Plaintiff lawyers of 2022.
In addition to his work as an attorney, Mr. Weinberg has been involved in several professional organizations such as the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, and the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. He currently serves as Governor Emeritus of the Consumer Attorneys of California, a position he has held since 2004. Mr. Weinberg has also offered his legal knowledge to various educational institutions as an adjunct professor, teaching classes at Desert College of Law, California Desert Trial Academy College of Law, and his alma mater, Pepperdine University.