American House Senior Living: Lawsuits, Violations, Ownership, Complaints, and How Families Can Get Help

Michael Hill Trial Law investigates abuse, neglect, and wrongful-death cases against American House Senior Living assisted living and memory care communities, and we represent families nationwide. For more than 15 years, Michael Hill has investigated claims of mistreatment of residents at assisted living facilities. American House Senior Living is a privately held senior living operator (founded 1979; Southfield, MI), an affiliate of the developer REDICO, running about 70 communities (roughly three-quarters independent living) across the Midwest, Florida, Tennessee and New England. This page assembles the public record on the company — its ownership and size, where it operates, its lawsuits and state penalties, and the kinds of complaints families raise — each factual claim sourced, and reviewed by trial attorney Michael Hill, who focuses his practice exclusively on neglect and abuse in assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and group homes.

If your loved one was injured or died in a American House Senior Living community, or you believe a community failed to provide the care it promised, you may have legal options and time limits may be short. Case reviews are free and confidential. Start your case or call (800) 659-2712.

Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Size figures are drawn from the company’s public filings and industry reporting; lawsuit, settlement and penalty items are from public court and agency records, each cited below.

Assisted Living Case Types We Handle

The injuries and neglect we investigate in assisted living and memory care communities.

Falls & FracturesBedsores & Pressure InjuriesDehydrationMalnutritionBowel Obstruction & Fecal ImpactionInfections & SepsisMedication ErrorsWandering & ElopementChokingPhysical & Sexual AssaultUnderstaffingWrongful Death

What Assisted Living Is — and How It Differs From a Nursing Home

Assisted living communities are built for older adults who need help with daily activities — bathing, dressing, medication reminders, meals — but are not supposed to need around-the-clock skilled nursing. Families choose them as a residential alternative to a nursing home. Assisted living is regulated almost entirely by each state, with staffing and training standards that vary widely and no federal five-star rating or Special Focus program like the one for nursing homes. The gap between the care these communities market and the care they are actually staffed to provide is at the center of many claims. The difference between independent living, assisted living and nursing homes.

Company Overview and Ownership

American House Senior Living is a privately held senior living operator (founded 1979; Southfield, MI), an affiliate of the developer REDICO, running about 70 communities (roughly three-quarters independent living) across the Midwest, Florida, Tennessee and New England. It is headquartered in Southfield, MI. Ownership: Privately held; an affiliate of REDICO, a Detroit-based real estate developer and investor (Dale Watchowski leads both). No private-equity fund owner was identified..

Ownership and investor structure matter in these cases: the company that signed the residency agreement, the company that holds the state license, the company that employs the staff, and the company that owns the building may not be the same, and private-equity or institutional investors can sit above all of them. Sorting out which entities are responsible is one of the first things an experienced lawyer does. How corporate control affects responsibility in long-term care.

The Services American House Senior Living Provides — and How Preventable Harm Happens in Each

Like other large senior-living operators, American House Senior Living runs communities across several levels of care, and each carries its own patterns of preventable injury and death. One thread runs through all of them: when a community accepts residents it is not staffed or trained to care for, the harm below becomes foreseeable.

Assisted Living

Assisted living serves residents who need help with daily activities while being marketed as a residential alternative to a nursing home. Because these residents are frailer and depend on staff, the harm is both common and serious: falls from unmet supervision and transfer needs; bedsores and pressure injuries when residents are not repositioned or kept clean and dry; dehydration and malnutrition when residents do not get help to eat and drink; medication errors; infections; choking on the wrong diet texture; and physical or sexual assault by staff or other residents. Most trace back to understaffing.

Independent Living and Higher Levels of Care

Many of these communities also offer independent living, and some operate continuing-care campuses. Harm occurs when a resident's needs quietly outgrow the setting and no one reassesses, or when a community keeps a resident in a setting that cannot meet their needs to preserve occupancy — leading to falls, bedsores and pressure injuries, and in the worst cases wrongful death.

American House Senior Living Lawsuits and Regulatory Record

This is not a complete litigation history, and the existence of a lawsuit or complaint is not proof of wrongdoing. A settlement is not an admission of liability.

Notable matters

• 2023 — Reported (state recommended license revocation): Elopement death — American House Jenison Cherrywood (Jenison, MI). Calvin Powers, 83, a hospice patient who had walked away from an adjacent American House home two weeks earlier, pulled a fire alarm and walked out the front door in October 2023 and was found dead outside hours later in cold rain. Michigan regulators issued five violations — including understaffing and failed resident checks — and recommended revoking the 20-bed home's license. Source
• 2022 — Reported (state citation; suit filed): Elopement drowning — American House Cobblestone Manor (Kentwood, MI). Jean Bruin, 86, who had dementia and was legally blind, got outside undetected after bedtime in June 2022 and was found drowned in a nearby pond. Michigan regulators cited the home for inadequate supervision and found exit-door alarms were inoperable or disengaged; the family filed suit. The allegations are unproven. Source
• 2023 — Reported (pattern of citations): Systemic understaffing citations — West Michigan American House homes. Michigan regulators cited six of the roughly eighteen West Michigan American House adult-foster-care/memory-care homes for inadequate staffing since 2022, the backdrop to the two elopement deaths above. Source
• 2024 — Penalty imposed: Tennessee state enforcement — American House Kingsport. A January–February 2024 Tennessee Department of Health survey found American House Kingsport failed to provide a safe environment for three of fourteen residents reviewed — inadequate supervision and failure to update care plans for residents with aggressive behaviors — and imposed a $3,000 civil monetary penalty. Amount: $3,000. Source

Complaint and Harm Types in the American House Senior Living Record

Across the public records we reviewed, these are the kinds of harm that recur — the same kinds our firm investigates in assisted living and memory care. If your loved one experienced any of these, it may support a claim:

Who May Be Legally Responsible

Because American House Senior Living usually runs each community through a separate local company that holds the state license, with the building often owned by another company, a lawsuit may need to name the local licensee, the management company, and the property owner. The following names have appeared as parties in court or agency records involving American House Senior Living communities.

• American House Senior Living Communities
• REDICO (affiliate)
• American House Cobblestone Manor (Kentwood, MI)
• American House Jenison Cherrywood (Jenison, MI)
• American House Kingsport (TN)

Learn more: who is legally responsible for negligence in long-term care.

Where American House Senior Living Operates and How to Check a Community's Record

American House Senior Living operates in multiple states. Assisted living inspection and complaint records are kept by each state, not the federal government, so use the official licensing lookup for the state where the community is located; some states post inspections, complaints and penalties online while others require a records request. We represent families nationwide. Find your state’s Adult Protective Services and aging agency (Eldercare Locator); find your long-term care ombudsman.

What to Do If You Suspect Neglect at an Assisted Living Community

• Get your loved one safe and get medical care first; ask the treating doctor to document injuries.
• Write down a timeline and keep texts, emails and voicemails. What to do if you suspect abuse or neglect.
• Ask in writing for the service plan, assessments, care notes, medication records, incident and fall reports, and the residency agreement. Why care plans matter; the evidence that matters most.
• Photograph injuries and the room, and ask that any video be preserved. Should I put a camera in the room?
• Report it to the state licensing agency, Adult Protective Services and the long-term care ombudsman. Eldercare Locator; find your long-term care ombudsman.
• Do not wait: filing deadlines vary by state and can be short. How long do I have to file?

Frequently Asked Questions About American House Senior Living

Who owns American House Senior Living?

Privately held; an affiliate of REDICO, a Detroit-based real estate developer and investor (Dale Watchowski leads both). No private-equity fund owner was identified.

How big is American House Senior Living and where is it based?

American House Senior Living is a privately held senior living operator (founded 1979; Southfield, MI), an affiliate of the developer REDICO, running about 70 communities (roughly three-quarters independent living) across the Midwest, Florida, Tennessee and New England. It is headquartered in Southfield, MI.

Has American House Senior Living faced lawsuits or state violations?

In the public court and agency records we reviewed, there are 4 lawsuits and matters involving American House Senior Living, with about $3,000 in documented settlements, penalties and fees. Notable matters include Elopement death — American House Jenison Cherrywood (Jenison, MI). The existence of a lawsuit or complaint is not proof of wrongdoing.

Can I sue American House Senior Living for neglect or abuse?

Residents and families can bring claims against an assisted living operator for negligence, residents' rights violations, breach of the residency agreement, fraud and wrongful death. Whether a claim is viable depends on the facts and the state where the community is located. Michael Hill Trial Law offers free, confidential case reviews for families nationwide.

Who is legally responsible when someone is harmed at a American House Senior Living community?

Often more than one company. These operators typically run each community through a separate local licensee, while the building may be owned by another entity and management provided by a third. The right defendants depend on who held the license, who managed care, and who owned the property at the time of the harm.

What if we signed an arbitration agreement with American House Senior Living?

Courts do not always enforce assisted living arbitration clauses. Whether one applies depends on who signed it, the authority that person had, and the state's law. Keep a copy of everything you signed and have a lawyer review it.

How do I check a American House Senior Living community's inspection and complaint record?

Assisted living records are kept by each state, not the federal government. Use the official state licensing lookup for the state where the community is located; some states post inspections, complaints and penalties online while others require a records request.

Information on this page comes from public court records, government agency records, company filings and news reports, as cited. Lawsuits and complaints contain allegations that have not been proven unless a court or agency has ruled. A settlement is not an admission of liability. Counts are not a complete litigation history and do not by themselves indicate the quality of any community. This page is attorney advertising and is not legal advice. Last reviewed 2026-10-29.