Woodbridge Vista Long-Term Care Home Class Action Lawsuit Filed After COVID-19 Deaths

Lawyers representing plaintiffs in the Woodbridge Vista Care Community class action lawsuit say they will attempt to hold the operators of the Ontario-based nursing home financially responsible for the deployment of Canada’s Armed Forces at their facilities.

Ontario nursing homes have reportedly been hotbeds of COVID-19 outbreaks, as well as allegations that the long-term care home operators failed to adequately protect and care for their residents. The Canadian Armed Forces reportedly stepped in when it became apparent that the operators of these facilities could not handle the outbreak.

An additional result of the outbreak and military reports of abuse and neglect of residents are a number of proposed class action lawsuits that say residents were put at unnecessary risk from the coronavirus have been filed as well.

The law firm Thomson Rogers announced that they will attempt to make the operators of long-term care home facilities where Armed Forces were deployed pay for that service, rather than taxpayers.

“These costs should be fully reimbursed by Sienna and not shouldered by the taxpayers of Ontario and Canada,” one lawyer representing plaintiffs in a long-term care home class action lawsuit said. “This is the second action Thomson Rogers has advanced on behalf of residents at a Sienna Senior Living facility. The reported conditions at Woodbridge Vista and the Altamont Care facilities are appalling. As a community we trust these facilities to take care of our loved ones with an expectation that the needs of our most vulnerable are looked after.”

The lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the Woodbridge Vista class action lawsuit say that they have contacted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, along with other government representatives to insist that the care home operator pay these expenses.

After the Canadian Armed Forces stepped in to assist nursing homes battling coronavirus outbreaks, military personnel reportedly revealed shocking instances of neglect and abuse in the homes. After a military report was submitted to representatives, some lawyers representing plaintiffs in proposed long-term care home class action lawsuits have pledged to have members of the military who reported abuses testify in the cases.

Woodbridge Vista is a long-term care home based in Ontario that received assistance from the Canadian Armed Forces, according to Kelowna Now. The home is owned by Sienna Senior Living, a long-term care home operator that runs a number of facilities and has been subject to other proposed class action lawsuits.

The Woodbridge Vista long-term care home class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of two women who lost their mothers to COVID-19 while they were residents of the facility. A statement issued by lawyers representing the plaintiffs and proposed Class Members notes that the lawsuit is seeking $15 million in damages.

According to a report by Globe News Wire, the Executive Vice President of Operations of Sienna Senior Living was dismissed from her position after making disparaging comments about residents and their families during a virtual meeting.

Thomson Rogers’ lawyers point out in their statement that within days of the dismissal, Ontario ousted the nursing home operator, Sienna Senior Living, and appointed William Osler Health System as interim manager of Woodbridge Vista. In addition, the Canadian Armed Forces were deployed to the home to assist. Then, the president and CEO of Sienna Senior Living resigned, say the lawyers.

Kelowna Now reports that a number of Woodbridge Vista residents died after contracting COVID-19 recently.

Lawyers in the Woodbridge Vista long-term care home class action lawsuit say that they hope to bring “meaningful change” to Ontario’s nursing home system, in addition to compensation for residents and their families.

Indeed, the proposed class action lawsuit against Woodbridge Vista Care Community is far from the first complaint filed in the aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak that reportedly disproportionately impacted long-term care homes in the region. A number of other care home operators face similar class action lawsuits filed by residents and their families over the quality of care they received during the pandemic.

Proposed long-term care home class action lawsuits have even been filed on behalf of medical staff who accuse the homes’ operators of negligence when it came to addressing the spread of COVID-19, including failures to disseminate policies to residents, staff and visitors that would have protected them. Some plaintiffs in these class action lawsuits say that medical staff were forced to work while sick without proper personal protective equipment.

Are you or a loved one a resident in a long-term care home facility? Have you been impacted by a coronavirus outbreak? Tell us your story in the comment section below!

The lead plaintiffs and proposed Class Members are represented by Thomson Rogers.

Read More Lawsuit & Settlement News:

Indian Day School Settlement Form Raises Concerns Among Survivors

Canadian Troops Could Be Called to Testify in Long-Term Care Homes Class Action Lawsuits

HP Canada Class Action Lawsuit Claims Defective Keyboard

Lawsuit Against Quebec Claims Unreasonable Confinement Amid COVID-19