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

Michael Hill Trial Law investigates abuse, neglect, and wrongful-death cases against Sunrise 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. Sunrise Senior Living is one of the largest senior living operators in the United States — ranked by Argentum as the second-largest assisted living provider, behind Brookdale, and among the largest overall by total units. 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 Sunrise 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

Sunrise Senior Living is one of the largest senior living operators in the United States — ranked by Argentum as the second-largest assisted living provider, behind Brookdale, and among the largest overall by total units. It is headquartered in McLean, VA. Ownership: Owned by PSP Investments; a majority stake is being sold to BDT & MSD Partners (definitive agreement announced October 2026, expected to close in 2027, subject to regulatory approval).

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 Sunrise Senior Living Provides — and How Preventable Harm Happens in Each

Like other large senior-living operators, Sunrise 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.

Sunrise 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

• 2024 — Settled: Heredia v. Sunrise Senior Living, LLC, No. 4:18-cv-00616-HSG (N.D. Cal.). A class action alleging Sunrise understaffed its California communities relative to residents' assessed care needs. The court granted final approval of an $18.2 million class settlement on December 3, 2024, covering roughly 3,500 residents across about 45 California communities. Amount: $18,200,000. Source
• 2024 — Settled (agency agreement): California Civil Rights Department settlement re Sunrise of Torrance. The California Civil Rights Department resolved a fair-housing complaint (filed by the Fair Housing Federation of Southern California) alleging disability and communication-access failures at Sunrise of Torrance. Sunrise agreed to pay $110,000 under a settlement agreement, with no admission of liability. Amount: $110,000. Source
• 2022 — Summary judgment for the defendant (2023): Wisecarver v. Sunrise Senior Living Services, Inc. and Sunrise Senior Living Management, Inc. (D. Kan.). A wrongful-death suit alleging a resident ingested dishwasher liquid at a Lenexa, Kansas community. In December 2023 the court granted summary judgment for the Sunrise defendants, finding insufficient causation evidence. Source

Complaint and Harm Types in the Sunrise 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 Sunrise 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 Sunrise Senior Living communities.

• Sunrise Senior Living Management, Inc.
• Sunrise Senior Living, LLC
• Sunrise Senior Living Services, Inc.
• Sunrise Senior Living, Inc.

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

Arbitration

Courts do not always enforce assisted living arbitration clauses; a signed clause does not always end a family's right to a jury trial. In the records we reviewed:

• Norma Daniels v. Sunrise Senior Living, Inc. (Cal. Ct. App., No. E054472) (2013) — the Court of Appeal affirmed the denial of Sunrise's motion to compel arbitration; the heir's wrongful-death claim stayed in court. Source

What families should know about arbitration agreements before signing.

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

Sunrise Senior Living operates in 28 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 Sunrise Senior Living

Who owns Sunrise Senior Living?

Owned by PSP Investments; a majority stake is being sold to BDT & MSD Partners (definitive agreement announced October 2026, expected to close in 2027, subject to regulatory approval)

How big is Sunrise Senior Living and where is it based?

Sunrise Senior Living is one of the largest senior living operators in the United States — ranked by Argentum as the second-largest assisted living provider, behind Brookdale, and among the largest overall by total units. It is headquartered in McLean, VA.

Has Sunrise Senior Living faced lawsuits or state violations?

In the public court and agency records we reviewed, there are 3 lawsuits and matters involving Sunrise Senior Living, with about $18,310,000 in documented settlements, penalties and fees. Notable matters include Heredia v. Sunrise Senior Living, LLC, No. 4:18-cv-00616-HSG (N.D. Cal.). The existence of a lawsuit or complaint is not proof of wrongdoing.

Can I sue Sunrise 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 Sunrise 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 Sunrise 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 Sunrise 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.