December 1, 2025
Originally published by
Cal Matters
Ed Dudensing spoke with CalMatters for a new investigation examining longstanding oversight failures at California nursing homes owned or affiliated with operator Shlomo Rechnitz. These facilities, according to state and federal data, have disproportionately high rates of deficiencies, federal fines, and poor-quality ratings.
The article details a series of recent verdicts across the state, including multimillion-dollar jury awards tied to chronic understaffing, missed medical care, preventable injuries, and, in several cases, deaths. In addition to cases brought by other firms, the report highlights multiple ongoing lawsuits led by Dudensing Law.
Speaking to CalMatters Ed Dudensing underscored the troubling pattern of harm in these facilities and the urgent need for meaningful oversight:
“We’ve just got to keep fighting,” Dudensing said. “There was a time when there was a lot of scrutiny… but he managed to slip through.”
The investigation also reveals years of licensing delays, regulatory breakdowns, and decisions by state agencies that allowed Rechnitz-affiliated long-term care facilities to continue operating, even as serious allegations accumulated and quality problems persisted.
At Dudensing Law, our work continues across multiple active cases involving facilities that Rechnitz owned or is affiliated with. We remain committed to pursuing full accountability and ensuring that California’s most vulnerable residents receive the protections they deserve.
The U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging is investigating “walkaway deaths” at assisted living facilities, where residents wander off or are left unattended, leading to fatal outcomes. Senator Bob Casey sent letters to CEOs of major assisted living facility corporations, particularly in California, regarding reports of workforce shortages and inadequate care.
According to renowned elder abuse attorney Ed Dudensing, these deaths can be caused by exposure to inclement weather, pedestrian accidents, lack of access to vital medicine and other situations where elderly people are especially vulnerable.
The issue is especially critical for California due to its climbing elderly population, with over 6.1 million residents aged 65+, many of whom will soon enter the care of assisted living facilities. Assisted living facilities are a crucial part of the healthcare industry but often face staffing shortages and lower training requirements compared to skilled nursing facilities, posing significant risks to residents.
Private equity firms have increasingly invested in assisted living facilities, driven by profitability. Research suggests that when private equity firms acquire healthcare facilities, patients face higher risks and lower quality of care.
“Californians have long prioritized access to quality health care. We need to encourage federal, state and local governments to take a vested interest in the required quality of care at assisted living facilities, and advocate for the rights of those who are no longer able to advocate for themselves,” said Dudensing.
Dudensing Law currently is representing family members in a lawsuit against Colony Capital (now known as DigitalBridge), Formation Capital, and others, regarding a walkaway death in which the victim walked out of a 2nd floor door that was unarmed and unalarmed, fell down a flight of stairs, and froze to death outside. Walkaway deaths like this are simply unacceptable.
In California elder abuse litigation, understaffing is recognized as far more than a simple management error.
Founder Ed Dudensing, author of the 2025 Rutter Group treatise “Elder Abuse Litigation,” provides critical insights into why chronic understaffing is often a calculated corporate decision to maximize profits at the expense of patient care.
California case law now recognizes that understaffing alone can support a jury finding of “recklessness.” This standard is critical because it shifts the focus from individual errors to corporate decisions that create unsafe conditions for vulnerable residents.
Office Manager and Senior Litigation Secretary Kari Kalista recently celebrated 15 years with Dudensing Law.
With deep expertise in civil procedure, court rules at every level, and every phase of case development, she has been an anchor of the firm's operations since day one.
Dudensing Law Founder Ed Dudensing led a presentation titled "Financials 101 for Elder Abuse Lawyers" for a California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR) webinar, equipping plaintiff-side elder abuse attorneys with the tools to read nursing home financial records as litigation evidence.
The session discussed key financial paperwork and how each document type can reveal deliberate cost-cutting decisions, profit-shifting to affiliated companies, and the financial control structures that connect parent companies to individual facilities.
“How would you describe Dudensing Law’s approach to handling your case?”
Former client Ralph V. says it best: even across three time zones, the Dudensing Law team made sure every member of his family felt informed, supported, and never alone in the process.
That is the standard we hold ourselves to for every family we represent.
If you or a loved one has experienced elder abuse or neglect, we are here to help: dudensinglaw.com/contact/
The nursing home that neglected your loved one probably doesn't own itself.
In his Rutter Group treatise on elder abuse litigation, founder Ed Dudensing writes extensively about the corporate structures behind California's long-term care facilities.
A typical defendant isn't a single entity; it's generally a licensed operator owned by a management company, owned by a holding company, owned by a private equity fund, with the actual assets held somewhere entirely separate.
