Brickyard Healthcare [fka Golden Living] Violations & Lawsuits

Golden Living was a prominent senior care company before it rebranded to Brickyard Healthcare in 2024. Despite the rebranding, it still has all the same qualities as before. The company was initially founded in 1963, with its headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana. 

Previously, Golden Living operated dozens of facilities throughout the United States, but now that Golden Living has rebranded, it only operates in Indiana and has downsized tremendously. 

They were known for operating home health agencies, assisted living communities, and skilled nursing homes, while now their focus is on skilled nursing homes. In these nursing homes, they provide residents with a variety of services. 

About Brickyard Healthcare

Whether residents are there for short-term care or living there long-term, they have access to dietary services, memory care services, assistance with activities of daily living, physical, occupational, and speech therapy, wound care, and more. A comprehensive list of services ensures that patients in the community have the necessary support. 

They provide hospice and palliative care services to residents in the facilities. One would think that since they downsized to start a new chapter, their level of care would increase, but that’s not true. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rates all skilled nursing homes in the country based on a five-star system. They assess the facilities’ staffing, health inspections, and quality measures, giving each of them an individual rating as well as an overall rating. 

Several of Brickyard Healthcare’s facilities have decent ratings, but of the 23 they operate now, seven have been flagged by CMS for elderly abuse. Even the higher-rated facilities aren’t immune from receiving complaints and deficiencies. 

If you or a loved one have been abused or neglected while living in one of their communities in Indiana, you might be entitled to compensation. Contact the Nursing Home Law Center for your free consultation and to hear more about your legal options. 

Complaints and Legal Actions Against Golden Living

Since its founding in 1963, Golden Living has faced dozens of complaints. While not all of these complaints result in lawsuits, that doesn’t make them any less important. Complaints that this senior living company faced throughout the years include: 

• Inadequate personal care 
• Low-quality healthcare 
• Suspected abuse by employees
• Lack of stimulating activities
• Lack of amenities to have an adequate living environment 
• Cleanliness issues, including mold clothes and the rooms smell
• Understaffing

All the complaints were documented in inspection and deficiency reports over the years, with some facilities correcting the issues while others still struggle with many deficits. Not all the complaints were substantiated when the state licensing board came to investigate, but regardless of that, the inspections often revealed other issues within the facilities. 

Lawsuits Against Golden Living Senior Living Communities

Before its rebranding to Brickyard Healthcare, Golden Living faced numerous lawsuits. These lawsuits ranged from wrongful death to elder abuse to employee discrimination. Some speculate that Goledn Living chose to rebrand because of these issues. 

Rebranding allowed them to consolidate their facilities, and they operate only in Indiana now. Many of the lawsuits resulted from inadequate care of residents within Golden Living centers. 

Pennsylvania v. Golden Living

The Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General filed a lawsuit naming 14 Golden Living centers involved in intentional understaffing, which led the facilities to provide low levels of primary care to everyone. In the lawsuit, the Attorney General states that Golden Living was falsely advertising its services, promising all residents a comfortable and home-like environment, which wasn’t the case. 

The high level of understaffing at all 14 facilities compromised their ability to provide a safe, comfortable, and home-like environment. The Attorney General also claimed that Golden Living’s parent entity, Golden Gate National Senior Care, put restrictions on staffing, knowing full well what can happen with understaffing. Understaffing and its impact was the main focus of the suit.

All the nurses and other staff didn’t have the time to provide adequate care to every patient within the facilities. Long-term residents would go without showers for days, didn’t have assistance eating, and were left alone in strange places because they couldn’t move without help. This lawsuit resulted in a $6 million deal to end the Attorney General’s lawsuit. [1]

Brown v. Brickyard Healthcare Fountainview Care Center

Between the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, Heidi Brown filed complaints against Brickyard Healthcare for employment discrimination. Among the complaints in her lawsuit, she references the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and a violation of worker and residents’ rights. 

Brown was hired as a unit manager when another Brickyard employee wrote to the South Bend Housing Authority about her employment. Employees state that Brown failed to complete her professional background check before beginning work, and she was questioned about her jewelry, which was meaningful to her spiritual beliefs. She was interrogated in front of other staff members, causing a “scene.” 

She was then demoted and had to take a pay cut that reflected her demotion. She was told she needed additional training, but she was never told why or what specific training she needed. There’s currently no status on what the result of her lawsuit was. 

State of Georgia v. Golden Living Nursing Homes

In 2013, the State of Georgia filed a lawsuit against Golden Living for violating the False Claims Act (FCA) and the Georgia State False Medicaid Claims Act. The lawsuit stems from Golden Living billing the government for wound care that they either weren’t providing or were providing, but it wasn’t up to the standard that could be considered helpful. Proper wound care can help long-term residents heal faster.

At the time, Golden Living was operating a skilled nursing home in Atlanta, Georgia, and was known for providing substandard wound care. During their investigation, it was decided that Golden Living would pay $613,300 to resolve the allegations presented to them. The United States government received $423,544 of that settlement. [2]

Miller v. Golden Living

When Golden Living had facilities in Pennsylvania, they were allegedly responsible for the wrongful death of a resident. In 2015, Mary Ann Miller entered a facility following her hip surgery. She was starting rehabilitation. While staying at this facility, she received less than adequate quality care. The developed bedsores went untreated longer than they should have. 

Miller passed away in 2016, and her autopsy revealed that the bedsores she developed were linked to her untimely death. Her family pursued legal action against Golden Living for her wrongful death. 

The courts agreed that negligence by staff at Golden Living centers contributed to the death of Miller. Even though all the money in the world can’t bring her back to life, the family was awarded punitive damages in this case. 

Inspection and Deficiency Reports at Golden Living

Several deficiencies have been noted at Brickyard Healthcare facilities throughout Indiana. Even the facilities with higher CMS ratings have filed several complaints about them. Here’s a look at some of the more recent inspection and deficiency reports at some of the facilities previously owned by Golden Living: 

• Brickyard Healthcare Bloomington Care Center – Issue Summary 06/24/2024: 
  • Violation: Allowing residents to self-administer medications and failing to ensure that each resident has a drug regimen that’s free from unnecessary medications. 
  • Example: The facility allowed some residents to administer their medications in their room when it was not warranted and against policy. While residents can do this if clinically appropriate, the facility failed to deem them clinically appropriate before allowing them to do so. They also failed to promptly remove unnecessary medications from a few residents’ medication regimens. 
• Brickyard Healthcare Churchman Care Center – Issue Summary 12/01/2023: 
  • Violation: Failing to honor residents’ rights to request, refuse, or discontinue treatment and failing to allow them to form an advanced directive. 
  • Example: This facility failed to ensure that one resident’s advanced directive was documented correctly. As a result, the residents’ wishes were not honored, and staff ignored them even though the residents’ cognitive abilities were intact. 
• Brickyard Healthcare Golden Rule Care Center – Issue Summary 06/20/2024: 
  • Violation: Failing to provide residents with a safe, clean, and homelike environment and failing to protect residents from all kinds of abuse, including emotional, physical, and mental. 
  • Example: Several residents were found to have thick layers of dust on their belongings and debris from meals on other belongings. According to the inspection report, this healthcare facility failed to ensure that all residents were protected from sexual abuse in their Alzheimer’s unit. Of the five residents interviewed, three were subjected to this abuse. 
• Brickyard Healthcare Laporte Care Center – Issue Summary 05/14/2024:
  • Violation: Failing to reasonably accommodate the needs and health preferences of all residents, failing to protect all residents from the wrongful use of residents’ money or belongings, and failing to assist residents who need help with activities of daily living (ADLs). 
  • Example: Inspection reports found that staff on duty didn’t assist residents with their ADLs when necessary. For example, staff left a resident sitting on a stool in their room for half an hour without access to the call light. The healthcare facility was also found to have an incident where an employee used a resident’s insulin pen for themself rather than the patient. Laporte failed to assist three out of six residents interviewed with nail care and facial hair removal when they couldn’t do it themselves. 

Free Case Evaluation

Golden Living isn’t a stranger to complaints and lawsuits, even as they’ve rebranded to Brickyard Healthcare in an attempt to start a new chapter. When it comes to dealing with neglect and abuse in senior living communities, hiring an experienced lawyer is the best thing you can do. 

Experienced attorneys, like those at the Nursing Home Law Center, will help you hold the facility and other liable parties accountable while seeking the maximum compensation for the damages incurred. Nursing home lawyers can help by: 

• Investigating neglect and abuse claims 
• Holding senior living communities responsible for their actions or inactions that led to inadequate treatment 
• Pursuing compensation and justice for victims of nursing home abuse and their families 
• Advocating for your rights and improvements in the senior living industry 

If you or a loved one have been harmed while staying at a Golden Living facility or any other nursing home, taking action as soon as possible is vital to ensure you’re within the statute of limitations and can seek justice. Make sure that you: 

• Ensure you or your loved one’s safety 
• Document everything you can about the abuse, including times, dates, and locations 
• Take photographs of injuries and the unclean room, if possible
• Keep medical records from healthcare visits or trips to the hospital
• Report your concerns to the nursing home administration, state licensing board, and local authorities 
• Reach out to a nursing home attorney 

Working with experienced attorneys like those at the Nursing Home Law Center means you’ll have a professional legal team. We have the experience, compassion, and drive to handle your case with the care and attention it deserves. While we work on your case, you can focus on healing instead of paying legal fees since we operate on a contingency fee basis. We don’t require any payment unless we win. 

When you or a loved one has been harmed in nursing homes, don’t hesitate to take action. Contact the Nursing Home Law Center today by filling out our online submission form or calling us at (800)926-7565. 

References: [1] Penn Live, [2]  Office of Attorney General