Nursing home expert witnesses in Massachusetts

ECS is based in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Massachusetts long-term care matters are the firm's home ground.

Who regulates long-term care in Massachusetts

Nursing homes in Massachusetts are licensed and surveyed by the Department of Public Health, which also conducts federal certification surveys for CMS. Assisted living residences are certified separately by the Executive Office of Aging and Independence, formerly the Executive Office of Elder Affairs, under a different statutory framework, which is why an assisted living case and a nursing home case in the same county can turn on entirely different standards.

• Nursing home complaints: Department of Public Health complaint unit, (800) 462-5540
• Elder abuse reports for adults 60 and over: statewide Elder Abuse Hotline, (800) 922-2275
• Assisted living residences: certified under M.G.L. c. 19D and the Aging and Independence regulations
• Patient abuse and mistreatment in long-term care facilities: M.G.L. c. 111, §§ 72F through 72L

Litigation features counsel should confirm

Massachusetts medical malpractice claims against providers are screened by a tribunal under M.G.L. c. 231, § 60B, which evaluates whether the offer of proof is sufficient to raise a legitimate question of liability appropriate for judicial inquiry, and can require a bond to proceed. Whether a particular claim against a facility is characterised as malpractice subject to the tribunal or as ordinary negligence is frequently contested, and the answer shapes what expert material you need and when.

What an expert is usually asked to address here

• Deviation from the federal requirements at 42 CFR Part 483 for certified facilities, and from Department of Public Health licensure standards
• Assisted living cases: the certification standards, the residency agreement and the service plan rather than F-tags
• Staffing sufficiency measured against the facility's own assessment and Payroll-Based Journal data
• Survey history, including any Department of Public Health complaint investigations

Local presence

ECS operates from Marblehead on the North Shore and works with firms across Greater Boston, Essex County, Worcester, Springfield and the South Coast, as well as nationally. Founder Jared Bane is a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator who led a Massachusetts nursing home through the COVID-19 period, including infection control practice that scored 100 percent on a Department of Public Health COVID-19 infection control audit.