Illegal Versus Immoral Part 1

The goings on in Washington D.C. these days brings to light a question that I have become very attuned to in the past year.  What's the difference between illegal and immoral?  Well, for one thing, illegal is a legal question.  Whether something is illegal is based on what the law says and ultimately how ones behavior is judged as it relates to said laws.  Immorality is an ethical question, and depending upon ones belief system, the judgement regarding immorality is ultimately based either on ones own ethical and moral guideposts, or, on ones religious and spiritual beliefs.  Do they cross over?  Absolutely, but most commonly on the extremes of each.  For example, murder is illegal and immoral, except in cases of self defense.  If a child steals food because they're hungry, that may be illegal, but one could question if it's immoral.

Over the past few years I have become intimately involved in the nursing home industry.  There are many legal constructs that have been nurtured and developed by both the industry and the politicians who create legislation that ultimately regulates the industry.  One of the favorite mechanisms by which individuals protect themselves from lawsuits is forming an LLC (Limited Liability Company) for their business.  Having an LLC generally protects the individual owner from personal liability from things that emanate from the business.  There are exceptions to how this works, and this is not meant to be a legal treatise.  However, from the perspective of the nursing home industry, the real estate that defines a nursing home is often owned within its own LLC.  There is often an operational business that coincides with the real estate entity.  The operational business also exists under its own LLC.  Finally, there is often a consulting business that makes recommendations to the operational business.  It, too, exists under its own business umbrella.

Here's how things play out.  If something goes wrong in a nursing home and a resident is harmed, who is to blame?  Well, the real estate entity will claim that all they are responsible for is the real estate and they have nothing to do with operations. They're not at fault.  The operations entity, theoretically responsible for the care that is delivered, will often point to the consultants who told them what to do.  Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't.  It's clearly the weakest link in the chain.  Nevertheless, even this link has some protections attached to it.  With that said, the operations entity is often the least profitable of all the entities involved. So, even if there is a judgement, there's no money to pay it.  Finally, the consulting company will say that their just consultants. They make recommendations, but they're not responsible for whether those recommendations are followed.

So, something goes wrong in a nursing home and a resident is harmed.  Was anything illegal done?  Generally not.  What about the ethical and moral side of the equation?  That's what I've been thinking about for the last year.  That's what I'm going to discuss in my next blog.