Doyle Dennis Avery LLP recently filed suit against Capital Senior Living Inc. and CSL Granbury, LLC d/b/a Courtyards at Lake Granbury (“Courtyards at Lake Granbury”) for retaliating against an employee because she reported several violations of law and refused to commit illegal acts.   

Prior to the retaliation, Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client worked at Courtyards at Lake Granbury as Director of Memory Care. Courtyards at Lake Granbury operates senior living communities and assisted living centers throughout the United States and offers assisted living, temporary stay, and memory care options for senior adults. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client was responsible for day-to-day operations within the Memory Care community. The client also cared for the residents with dementia. Over the course of her employment, Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client reported numerous resident safety violations. 

For example, Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client reported several safety problems regarding the residents’ medications. Indeed, Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client reported that there were medications missing from the facility’s medications cart. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client also discovered that the keys to the medications cart, which should have been hidden in order to secure medications, were placed on top of the cart, which allowed anyone to access the cart and the medications inside. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client also discovered that the facility’s residents improperly had medications in their possession, which was a significant safety violation because residents are prohibited from keeping and storing their own medications. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client reported that some residents were not even given the proper medication. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client reported that Courtyards at Lake Granbury failed to train their employees and instead permitted untrained and unqualified individuals to complete tasks that required specific qualifications. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client reported that the Courtyards at Lake Granbury building was not secure. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client also reported that Courtyards at Lake Granbury’s employees failed to draft incident reports following reportable incidences. Specifically, Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client learned about incidences in which residents were missing from the Courtyards at Lake Granbury and in which residents were injured. Despite the requirement to report these serious incidences to the Texas government, Courtyards at Lake Granbury’s employees chose not to report, and Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client subsequently reported this serious problem. Moreover, Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client reported that the Memory Care residents’ medical charts, which contain important patient health information such as the patient’s cognitive abilities, were not completed.  But instead of applauding Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client for bringing this safety issue to her attention, Courtyards at Lake Granbury requested that Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client retroactively complete the residents’ patient medical charts, even though Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client did not have the qualifications to complete the charts and Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client was not willing to retroactively complete the charts.

In July 2022, Courtyards at Lake Granbury experienced a COVID-19 breakout. During that time, several residents in the Assisted Living area of the building tested positive for COVID-19. The Assisted Living residents and the Memory Care residents resided in separate areas. In an effort to ensure the safety of the Memory Care residents, Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client, as Memory Care Director, reported that she was concerned about the Memory Care residents contracting COVID-19.

In all, over the course of several months, Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client reported these problems to Courtyards at Lake Granbury. In response, Courtyards at Lake Granbury dismissed and downplayed the reports. Eventually, Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client was fired for reporting these safety violations, including but not limited to the issues related to residents’ medications.   

Put differently, Capital Senior Living Inc. and CSL Granbury, LLC d/b/a Courtyards at Lake Granbury unlawfully and wrongfully terminated Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client because of her protected activity, namely, reporting violations of law and patient safety issues. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP seeks to recover legal damages in excess of the minimum jurisdictional limits of the court, pre- and post-judgment interest as allowed by law, costs of suit, and all other relief, at law or in equity.   

If you have been retaliated against an assisted living, temporary stay, and memory care facility, contact Doyle Dennis Avery LLP today for a free consultation.