Brown & Barron, LLC Partner Emily Jordan “E.J.” Hammann was recently featured by WBFF Fox45 in its Spotlight on Maryland investigative series examining a growing crisis in elder care: the rise of unlicensed assisted living facilities operating throughout Baltimore.
The segment, “Senior Trafficking: The Shadow Industry Maryland Won’t Shut Down,” revealed that more than 115 unlicensed facilities across the city quietly house thousands of elderly and disabled residents, often in unsafe and unsanitary conditions. Despite hundreds of complaints to state regulators and a 2023 law making it a felony to operate unlicensed homes, Maryland agencies have referred only one case for prosecution since the law took effect and none so far in 2025.
The investigation described a system where vulnerable adults are placed in overcrowded and unregulated homes with no trained medical staff, little oversight, and frequent signs of neglect and exploitation. Many of these residents are discharged from hospitals into unlicensed facilities simply because they have nowhere else to go, perpetuating what experts call a dangerous “cycle of abandonment.”
Speaking to WBFF, Hammann emphasized that the human toll of this crisis is being overlooked.
“Our elderly population tends to be quiet, especially when they’re ill. They’re not making a lot of noise,” Hammann said. “What we have is a quiet generation slowly slipping away, and nobody’s noticing.”
She also drew attention to the way some facilities treat residents less like people and more like stored property:
“Lawyers who work on elder neglect and elder abuse talk about the absence of care,” Hammann explained. “And I think it is sometimes akin to warehousing. It’s like you’re renting a storage unit — you sign a contract, you put boxes in a storage unit, and you forget about them.”
The Spotlight on Maryland investigation, which will continue airing in the coming months, highlights not only widespread regulatory failures but also the urgent need for transparency and accountability from both care operators and state agencies tasked with oversight.
You can watch the full Spotlight on Maryland segment featuring E.J. Hammann here.
As a Partner at Brown & Barron, LLC, E.J. Hammann represents families across Maryland in nursing home abuse, neglect, and wrongful death cases, helping expose systemic failures that allow such conditions to persist. Her work reflects the firm’s commitment to protecting the dignity and safety of seniors and ensuring that those responsible for neglect are held accountable under the law.