News & Insights

Brandon Essig Quoted by McKnight’s Long-Term Care News on COVID-19 Criminal Charges Against Nursing Homes

September 28, 2020

Lightfoot, Franklin & White LLC partner Brandon K. Essig is quoted in an article from McKnight’s Long-Term Care News about criminal charges against a Massachusetts nursing home over its handling of COVID-19. Essig told the publication that the charges aren’t surprising given the attention being paid to the nursing home industry by both state and federal regulators — and that the Massachusetts case won’t be the last. 

“I do think it is likely the first of what will be multiple criminal charges across the county related to nursing home care during the pandemic,” he said. 

Essig also notes in the article that nursing homes should be looking at how they handled COVID-19 and be both proactive and transparent with regulators.

“Showing that you have identified shortcomings but have taken steps to resolve issues going forward can go a long way and can mitigate regulatory enforcement actions. Such mitigation can, in turn, help with civil lawsuits,” he said. 

Essig focuses his practice on white-collar criminal defense, corporate investigations, NCAA compliance and investigations, and general litigation. He joined Lightfoot after nearly eight years as a federal prosecutor for the Department of Justice in the Middle District of Alabama where he tried multiple felony jury trials each year. Prior to his time at the DOJ, Essig was a Captain in the U.S. Marine Corps where he worked as a prosecutor and deployed with an infantry unit to Fallujah, Iraq.