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A proposed class action lawsuit over the operators of nursing home’s failed COVID-19 response has been expanded to include another defendant, Sienna Senior Living Inc.
According to Diamond and Diamond Lawyer, the Toronto-based firm that filed the initial class action lawsuit in April, the addition of Sienna Senior Living will bring the total damages claimed to $100 million. Class Members will also be expanded to include current and former residents of Sienna Senior Living residences in Canada, as well as their families.
“We expect there to be hundreds more Plaintiffs to be added,” a representative of Diamond and Diamond Lawyers said in a statement about the expansion of the failed COVID-19 response class action lawsuit. “We’ve been fielding calls from families across Canada who are grieving and want definitive answers.”
In April, the law firm filed the proposed class action lawsuit against Revera Retirement Living care facilities in Canada. The complaint was filed on behalf of two men who alleged they lost their mothers in senior care homes operated by Revera during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The plaintiffs claimed that Revera neglected to provide adequate testing for residents, along with proper sanitation, as the virus raged through the nursing home. They also say that residents and visitors were not told by the nursing home operator how to keep themselves safe from the virus.
“The elderly are the most vulnerable in society and they rely on the care and assistance of professionals, whom they pay, to ensure their safety,” said a Diamond and Diamond lawyer in a press release announcing the first failed COVID-19 response class action lawsuit. “It is our belief that the defendant was negligent in protecting their residents.”
The expansion of the proposed nursing home class action lawsuit was brought on behalf of four new plaintiffs. One, a woman whose father allegedly resided in a care facility operated by Sienna Senior Living, claims that lack of sanitation protocols and inadequate testing led to her father’s death from COVID-19.
“My father’s life was cut short,” Mansfield said in a press release announcing the expansion of the proposed nursing home class action lawsuit. “They had a duty to him and there were too many cracks in their operations.”
The plaintiffs allege negligence and breach of contract by Sienna Senior Living.
According to Diamond and Diamond lawyers representing the lead plaintiffs, there may be an additional 1,000 Class Members affected by the expansion of the failed COVID-19 response class action lawsuit. Diamond and Diamond invite those who believe they or a loved one experienced “insufficient care” at Revera, Sienna, or any other nursing home or care facility to contact them.
“There needs to be full accountability with regards to the management and operation of each of these homes. The state of some of them is appalling,” said a senior partner at Diamond and Diamond in a press release, also noting that the alleged failed COVID-19 response starts with the leadership at these organizations.
Coronavirus Hits Nursing Homes Hard: Are Operators to Blame?
COVID-19 reportedly hit the elderly, as well as those with underlying health conditions, particularly hard. These groups of people are more susceptible to contracting the disease and end up suffering severe complications.
However, some say that nursing home operators have not done enough to protect their vulnerable residents.
“When our elderly are infected, they tend to experience the symptoms on a larger scale than those younger individuals,” notes Diamond and Diamond law firm on its website. “They may also have several comorbidities which require a specific type of care.”
“What is also compounding the many problems in these facilities is that occasionally management has failed to properly protect the staff with PPE equipment or develop in-house processes which mitigate against risks,” continues the website.
Ontario nursing homes have been hit hard by coronavirus. According to Head Topics, the Ontario Labour Relations Board ordered three nursing homes operated by Sienna Senior Living to provide more resources to help protect their workers from COVID-19.
Head Topics report that these increased measures were ordered at the behest of a health workers’ union, SEIU Healthcare. These measures reportedly include requiring staff and visitors to wear personal protective equipment and separating ill residents from healthy residents.
Do you or a loved one reside in a nursing home operated by Revera Retirement Living or Sienna Senior Living in Canada? Are you concerned about their alleged failed COVID-19 response? Tell us what you think in the comment section below!
The plaintiffs and proposed Class Members are represented by Diamond and Diamond Lawyers.
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