Calif. nursing home Sweetwater Care fined $15M for fractures, soiled diapers

A California-based nursing facility chain will pay $15 million in penalties after an investigation unveiled years of senior abuse under its care due to systemic understaffing across its locations statewide. 

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California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the settlement against Sweetwater Care and its affiliates in a Tuesday news release that said the company accepted millions of dollars in Medi-Cal while violating state staffing requirements. Between 2021 and 2024, a state-run investigation revealed more than 14,000 cases of understaffing across Sweetwater Care California locations that resulted in multiple physical injuries and neglect of patients. 

“When those entrusted with the care of elderly residents fail to live up to these standards and put Californians in harm’s way, we take action,” Bonta said in the statement. “This settlement is a step in the right direction for Sweetwater Care and it underscores the California Department of Justice’s commitment to standing against any form of Medi-Cal fraud or elder abuse.” 

The multimillion-dollar settlement follows a 2025 lawsuit filed by Bonta in San Diego Superior Court. According to the lawsuit, one patient suffered skin breakdown when staff forgot to change her diaper during an evening shift in 2022. Another patient at the same facility said that the evening staff “refused” to help change her into clean underwear, which led to “pain, discomfort, and redness and irritation.”

That same year, a patient managed to leave the building before he was located down the street, according to the lawsuit. Upon his return, the patient complained about a headache before staff discovered dried blood and dirt on his head, the lawsuit said. He was taken to a hospital where he was diagnosed with subdural hematoma — a serious medical condition caused by bleeding near the brain usually caused by a head injury. 

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The Division of Medi-Cal Fraud & Elder Abuse, a unit under the California Department of Justice, confirmed the cases of elder abuse at Sweetwater Care facilities occurred when the sites were understaffed, according to a 2025 news release from the attorney general’s office.

That news release describes a litany of other complaints, including fractured bones that went days without treatment and pressure injuries severe enough to reveal a person’s hip bone in one case. The company “extracted over $31 million as ‘profit’” during the time period instead of using that money to care for their customers, the news release said.

Part of the $15 million settlement requires that $2.5 million of the funds go toward improving staffing and securing a compliance monitor across its 17 statewide locations for the next three years, Tuesday’s news release said. SFGATE reached out to Sweetwater management for comment but did not hear back by publication.