Court Rules Pennsylvania Can Use Contingency-Paid Law Firms To Investigate Nursing Home Consumer Protection Complaints
On January 11, 2016, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled that the state Department of Health does not have exclusive authority to investigate long-term care facilities for questionable billing practices, consumer marketing and staffing levels. The opinion means that the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office may continue using private law firms in consumer protection lawsuits against nursing homes.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General's office began entering contingency fee agreements in 2012, and one investigation by the law firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll resulted in a lawsuit filed in July 2015 against Golden Gate National Senior Care LLC, which operates . . .