Lawsuits Against Nursing Homes and COVID-19
COVID-19 Lawsuits Against Nursing Homes, Premature Or Are They The Necessary Voices of the Unheard?
The Kirland Nursing home in Seattle, Washington has been a hot bed of conversation as the nursing home industry has been put under a microscope, highlighting so many things that have been so wrong for so long. Incremental changes have been made through various methods, which have included lawsuits against nursing homes. But this behemoth of a system is far from perfect and as more people age, the population within them will only grow larger. And as these facilities become more of a staple for so many families, the question remains, is the industry upholding its’ end of the deal by doing everything it should to protect our loved ones? Sadly, in many circumstances, this is not the case. And so, it is no surprise that a lawsuit has been filed by one family member for the death of her loved one from COVID-19.
Like so many things that happen in today’s day and age, when things go so terribly wrong, the question inevitably leads to whether or not there will be a lawsuit over it. And when COVID-19 began ravaging nursing homes like wildfire, the question arose here as well. The foremost response in people’s minds, is whether pursuing legal action in this setting, at this moment in time is appropriate, is it useful? And the answer is, it depends. It depends on the facts, it depends on the situation, and it depends on the circumstances. Not every death due to COVID-19 in a nursing home is avoidable. However, when it comes to circumstances such as those in Kirkland, which included misrepresentations to family members and care takers, it is understandable why this course of action would be appropriate. And as to whether now is the time, the answer depends on the ultimate goal. What people forget is that the civil legal system is in place a a watchdog for accountability where our society often lacks repercussions that implement real change. Lawsuits have improved the safety of products, medication, medicine, driving, and other practices throughout every day life. While nursing homes are a difficult environment to be in during this outbreak, they are also supposedly some of the most experienced institutions when it comes to infection control. Lawsuits against nursing homes for failure to follow these industry standards are not novel. With preexisting stringent protocols and additional protocols in place for this pandemic, the question remains, why are so many people still contracting this virus, and why does it spread so rapidly? Are the protocols being followed? Are communications being made openly and honestly? Are those in charge ensuring that those in the trenches have all available information as to what must be done, and if so, how and when? Without strict guidance from the highest in these administrative chains, it is hard to expect any individual on the care taker level to be able to combat this pandemic in this setting.
Are wrongful deaths law suits against nursing homes taking advantage of this situation, or is it a necessary mechanism to ensure real change occurs to protect our most vulnerable population? In these circumstances, it seems apparent that it is indeed the latter. Not every death will be the basis of a lawsuit, but institutional wrongdoings must be brought to light and corporations that profit from caring for our elderly must be reminded that they are still held to industry standards. Nursing homes have always dealt with infection control, it has been a primary function of these facilities from MRSA to C-Diff. This is not foreign territory. Nursing Home Attorneys who have pursued lawsuits against nursing homes have been a primary way to hold these institutions accountable to ensure the existing protocols set by Medicare and other Federal and State entities are upheld. And upholding preexisting protocols and implementing new ones in the face of the Coronavirus is no different.
What happens from hereon in will depend heavily on what these facilities have done already, and what they will do in the future, to protect their residents -our loved ones. Will the voices of the unseen and unheard remain stifled by carelessness, or heard through the careful administration of protocols and procedures by administrations, or, in the alternative, through their families using the only tool available when the system fails, litigation. No matter what happens, whether there are more lawsuits, or not, it is important that everyone acknowledges that these individuals are not to be forgotten about or discarded as a foregone conclusion in our precarious society right now. Despite the fact so many have brushed them aside as at risk, those with preexisting conditions and/or are elderly are not disposable and they cannot, they will not be forgotten amidst this world-changing event.
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- LOS ANGELES — A woman whose mother died of the coronavirus at a Seattle-area nursing home that was ravaged by the COVID-19 outbreak filed a wrongful death lawsuit on Friday against the company that owns the facility.
Debbie de los Angeles, whose mother Twilla Morin, 85, died on March 4 at the Life Care Center in Kirkland, Washington of COVID-19 sued its parent company, Life Care Centers of America, alleging the company concealed vital facts about the outbreak before her mother died.
It is believed to be the first wrongful death lawsuit against the company, whose facility in Kirkland was the initial epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, and has been linked to at least 35 coronavirus deaths.
Cleveland, Tennessee-based Life Care Centers of America Inc is among the largest players in U.S. nursing home care, with more than 200 senior-living centers in 28 states. The company said last month that it would take stringent infection-control measures at all its facilities to guard against coronavirus.
De los Angeles accuses Life Care, its parent company, and senior executives at the Kirkland facility of “failing to disclose material facts” to relatives and residents at the home, so that her mother would be lulled into staying at the facility “in an environment, and under the care of individuals and entities, dangerous to her health and safety.”
Morin died 24 hours after contracting COVID-19 on March 3. De los Angeles never got to see or talk to her mother during that time and discovered her mother’s condition and death through voicemails left by nurses at the care home.
Life Care has always insisted that it did not know a resident at the home had contracted COVID-19 until Feb. 29, when it immediately informed residents and families.
Tim Killian, a spokesman for Life Care, said in an email to Reuters: “Our hearts go out to this family and the loss they have suffered during this unprecedented viral outbreak. We are unable to comment on specific legal cases that are pending, but we wish this and all families peace. The loss of any of our residents at Life Care Center of Kirkland is felt deeply by us.”
Brian Mickelsen, de los Angeles’s attorney, said his client strongly suspects the company knew more about a potential coronavirus outbreak before Feb. 29. He said a respiratory illness was sweeping through the home before then, and a month after coronavirus had arrived in Washington state. “My client filed a lawsuit to demand answers to important questions,” Mickelsen said.
