After eight years of litigation, the country’s largest senior living operator has agreed to make major facility upgrades and policy changes as part of a class-action settlement reached in federal court last month.

More than 80 families had sued Brookdale Senior Living, alleging elder financial abuse, violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and chronic understaffing that prevented residents from receiving basic promised care.

Plaintiff Bernadette Jestrabek-Hart, a resident of Brookdale Scotts Valley, welcomed the outcome and described the accessibility challenges faced by seniors with mobility limitations. “I have an electric scooter, and they wouldn’t let me bring it on the bus,” she said. “They kept saying the ramp wasn’t strong enough.”

Under the agreement, Brookdale will renovate three of its California locations — Brookdale San Ramon and Brookdale Scotts Valley in the Bay Area, and Brookdale Brookhurst in Southern California — to bring shared areas and some residential units into full ADA compliance. The company also committed to increasing transparency about staffing levels and improving evacuation procedures for wheelchair users at the San Ramon and Scotts Valley sites.

Plaintiffs’ co-lead attorney Gay Grunfeld called the settlement groundbreaking. “To my knowledge, this is the first time an assisted living company in the U.S. has been required — even through a settlement — to make renovations ensuring compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act,” she said.

Grunfeld expressed satisfaction with the resolution but noted that four plaintiffs had died before the case concluded. “They were very important to us,” she added.