Settlement

charging unnecessary rehabilitation services, Lawrance Bohm, who is Armstrong’s attorney, said in an email Wednesday.

“Now the company has been caught again assassinating the character of an outstanding employee because she reported concerns about understaffing, mold, dirty bed sheets, and neglectful care of the elderly, including her own father,” he said. “The problems in health care cannot be fixed without heroic people willing to speak up.”

Armstrong worked at Life Care for 21 years before she was fired following the death of her father, Frank Ward, 86, who fell at home and was admitted in May 2018 to the Life Care Center where she worked.

Armstrong, who lives in Menifee, complained to staff that Ward’s dietary requirements were not met for several days, leaving him malnourished, and that she wasn’t notified after her father fell at the facility.

Days later, Armstrong complained that Ward experienced another fall after a care team member assigned to watch him fell asleep while viewing

media on a mobile device, Bohm said.

On June 3, 2018, less than a month after Ward was admitted, he became septic after aspirating chunks of hamburger meat into his lungs due to the facility’s failure to provide puréed food as required by his dietary orders, according to the attorney.

Ward was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where he died hours later.

Later that same day, Armstrong was asked to return to work to complete a census report and, while on bereavement leave, was required to keep her cellphone on to answer after-hours calls to the Admissions Department.

“Historically, Mrs. Armstrong was told that any after-hours work on the phone was part of the job and that she would not be paid for that time,” Bohm said.

After Armstrong returned to work following her bereavement leave on June 25, 2018, she and her siblings decided to sue Life Care for Ward’s death.

Armstrong told Groves that she likely wouldn’t be employed by Life Care for much longer after it became known that she was suing the company.

“Mrs. Armstrong further added that her family

also planned on making a report to the state,” Bohm said. “In addition, Mrs. Armstrong disclosed concerns about inadequate staffing, fraudulent government reporting, and mold in the facility.”

According to Bohm, Groves defamed Armstrong by falsely reporting to his boss that she stated she could not do her job, did not feel comfortable giving tours of the Menifee facility and that nurses who worked there were incompetent.

The information was relayed to top officials at Life Care, who became concerned that Armstrong had a conflict of interest preventing her from performing her duties.

“No warning, conversation or action was taken to advise Mrs. Armstrong of the company’s concern about her presumed potential conflict of interest,” Bohn said.

On June 27, 2018, Armstrong’s assistant falsely reported to Groves that she saw Armstrong steal confidential logs containing information about the care of her father and other residents at the facility, according to Bohm.

“If true, this allegation would mean Mrs. Armstrong committed the crime of stealing confidential medical records pertaining to 58 different

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patients,” Bohm said.

Life Care suspended Armstrong without asking her about the allegations while rumors swirled through the Menifee facility that she had stolen patient records and violated medical privacy laws.

On July 9, 2018, Life Care decided the theft allegations could not be substantiated because multiple records unrelated to Ward were also missing from the facility, Bohm said.

However, Armstrong was fired anyway because of the alleged comments about her refusing to do her job, as well as criticism of the facility for the neglect of her father.

The jury determined that Life Care made 15 false statements about Armstrong that caused harm to her reputation and unanimously found a basis for whistleblower retaliation defamation.

“The jury obviously understood the importance of protecting workers who care for our growing elder population,” Bohm said.