Heritage Rehabilitation Center Violations & Ratings 

Nursing homes are designed to provide long-term care for elderly residents. However, when these facilities and staff members fall short of the expected standard of care, patients are at risk of negligence and malpractice. These deficiencies can harm nursing home residents, causing injuries, infections, worsening conditions, and death.

If you or a family member have suffered in an assisted living facility due to negligence or malpractice, you may have the right to seek compensation for legal damages. Our legal team at Nursing Home Law Center can guide you through the claims process, protect the resident’s rights, and negotiate for fair compensation. 

Heritage Rehabilitation Center Overview

Heritage Rehabilitation Center, located at 21414 South Vermont Ave in Torrance, CA, is a 161-bed facility offering comprehensive care for seniors. These services include short-term rehabilitation, long-term care, hospice support, therapy programs, dementia and memory care, social services, dietary planning, and medication management.

The facility focuses on personalized care for each resident, beginning with thorough emotional, physical, and mental assessments to create individual treatment plans and ensure comfortable accommodations.

Ownership and Affiliations

The nursing home’s legal business name is Heritage Care, LLC, and its ownership type is for-profit Limited Liability Company. The facility maintains an affiliation with Charis Trust DTD.

Ratings and Performance

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services evaluates many nursing homes in the United States. This federal entity creates an overall rating for each facility out of five stars based on health inspections, staffing, and quality measures. A one-star rating is considered well below average, a three-star rating is average, and a five-star rating is well above average.

Heritage Rehabilitation Center has a three-star average CMS rating. In the individual categories, the facility has received two stars for health inspections, four for staffing, and five for quality measures [1]. US News has also rated the facility four-star overall. Its short-term rehabilitation services are rated High-Performing, while long-term care is rated Average [2]. 

These ratings represent a concerning trend among many assisted living facilities in the United States. If you or your loved one has experienced nursing home negligence, consult an experienced attorney to understand your legal rights and options.

Complaints and Legal Actions Against Heritage Rehabilitation Center

This nursing home has received 16 deficiencies in its most recent 2024 CMS inspection, resulting in one Medicare payment suspension and two federal fines within the past three years. [1]. 

Nurses and administrators in nursing homes are supposed to provide quality care to all residents. When they are guilty of negligence or malpractice, they put patients’ lives at risk. This negligence has happened several times throughout the facility’s history, resulting in lawsuits by the affected victims and their families. Here is one case that involved Heritage Rehabilitation Center as a defendant. 

Birl Family vs. Heritage Rehabilitation Center

A wrongful death lawsuit was filed against Heritage Rehabilitation Center after Jerome Birl died following admission for post-surgical care. After undergoing surgery at a California hospital, Birl was admitted to several nursing facilities where he received improper care, resulting in repeated hospital returns. He was eventually admitted to Heritage Rehabilitation Center in Torrance, CA.

The lawsuit alleges that the caregivers failed to monitor high-risk conditions in the victim, leading to dehydration, malnutrition, and sepsis from an infected pressure ulcer. When his family found him unresponsive during a visit, he was transferred to a hospital, where he later passed away. 

The family pursued many legal damages in their wrongful death suit, including loss of companionship, loss of society, emotional distress, and loss of consortium. [3]

Inspections and Deficiency Reports at Heritage Rehabilitation Center

State or federal entities inspect every nursing facility in California. The frequency of inspections depends on the schedule of the overseeing agency and complaints against a specific facility. For example, an inspection may occur earlier than planned if patients submit complaints about a particular facility to the state. 

Recent Health Inspections (June 13, 2024)

Heritage Rehabilitation Center has experienced numerous deficiencies in recent years that have put residents in danger. Here are some of the violations at this facility that have resulted in citations or warnings [4]:

Call Light Accessibility

Two residents’ call lights were out of reach—one hanging at the side of the bed and another on the floor—preventing them from requesting assistance.

Room Temperature Conditions

One resident had to use three blankets and cover her head with a towel due to excessive cold from the air conditioning. Despite multiple complaints to staff, the issue remained unresolved, affecting the resident’s sleep and comfort.

Restorative Care

Five residents missed multiple prescribed therapy sessions due to understaffing, including:

• Missed arm and leg exercises
• Skipped walking exercises
• Incomplete range of motion services
• Missing splint applications

Pain Management During Wound Care

A resident screamed and moaned during pressure ulcer wound treatment without receiving adequate pain relief. Staff continued treatment despite clear signs of distress and failed to notify the physician about ineffective pain management.

Nutritional Care

One resident experienced severe weight loss (9.57% in 34 days) without proper intervention or monitoring. Staff failed to follow dietary recommendations and didn’t notify the physician or dietician about the significant weight loss.

In its most recent CMS inspection, this nursing home received 16 health citations, compared to a national average of 9.6. These deficiencies resulted in one Medicare payment suspension and two federal fines totaling $60,153 within the past three years [1]. Additionally: 

• Only 29.9% of patients were at or above the expected ability to care for themselves at discharge, compared to 52.8% nationally. 
• The number of hospitalizations per 1,000 long-stay resident days was 2.33, while the national average was 1.72. 
• The percentage of long-stay residents with catheters left in their bladders was 3.1%, compared to the national average of 1.3%. 
• The facility failed to ensure all drugs and biologicals were properly labeled, stored, and locked away to prevent unauthorized use [4].

How a Nursing Home Lawyer Can Help

Every person who spends time in a nursing home has the right to receive high-quality service. They also deserve to be protected from diseases, various forms of abuse, and financial exploitation. If you or a family member are mistreated at a rehab or nursing facility, you can seek compensatory damages, including medical bills, emotional distress, physical pain and suffering, and loss of quality of life. 

However, pursuing legal action can be complex and overwhelming. You are facing a nursing home with vast resources, including its team of lawyers and an insurance company. Hiring a nursing home negligence and abuse attorney can level the playing field and increase your chances of winning a settlement. 

Why Contact the Nursing Home Law Center

Our team will play an important role in winning your case. First, we will investigate your claim to determine your legal grounds for a lawsuit. Next, we will assess your damages to determine a fair settlement amount. 

An experienced lawyer will then gather evidence to support your claim and increase your chances of success. We will negotiate for fair payment if the facility or insurance company does not accept the initial compensation claim. Finally, if your case goes to court, our attorneys will represent you throughout the proceeding and protect your rights. 

If you or a loved one has been a victim of nursing home abuse, you can seek compensatory damages. 

What to Do if Your Loved One is a Victim

In many cases of nursing home or hospital negligence, family members are the first to notice the signs of abuse. When you visit your loved one in a long-term care facility or community, watch for the signs of abuse and neglect. This abuse could include unexplained bruises, evidence of physical restraints, fearfulness, behavioral changes, poor hygiene, or missing possessions. 

If you witness these warning signs, report them to the facility and contact the Nursing Home Law Center to discuss your suspicions. 

The Importance of Acting Quickly

Once nursing home abuse or neglect is discovered, it is essential to take quick and decisive action. For example, if you notice your loved one has unexplained bruises during a facility visit, you should contact a lawyer right away to discuss your options. 

The longer you wait, the more risks the resident will face from continued negligence that could cause injury, illness, or even death. You also want to avoid running into the statute of limitations in your state. 

Lastly, collecting evidence from the site is more difficult if you wait to report the abuse or neglect. Pursuing legal action right away will make it easier to preserve compelling evidence. 

Contingency Fee Agreement and Free Consultation

We work on a contingency fee basis at the Nursing Home Law Center. When facing high medical costs or emotional distress because of negligence, the last thing you need is to pay attorney fees upfront. Instead, we only receive payment from the settlement if we win your case. 

This arrangement reduces the financial burden on your shoulders while still allowing you to pursue a lawsuit for legal damages. You can also take advantage of our free consultation to ask questions about your case and the legal process.

If you or a family member have suffered harm at Heritage Rehabilitation Center, call our California nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys today at 800-926-7565 or complete our online form. 

Resources: [1] CMS – Heritage Rehabilitation Center, [2] US News – Heritage Rehabilitation Center, [3] Casetext – Birl V Heritage Care LLC, [4] Department of Health and Human Services – CMS