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New legislation in Alberta would shield long-term and supportive care providers from facing COVID-19-related lawsuits, in what regulators say is an effort to allow healthcare providers to operate without fear of litigation.
According to CBC, Bill 70 – the COVID-19 Related Measures Act – would protect the operators, along with Alberta Health Services, regulated health professionals, residential addiction treatment facilities, and pharmacies, from civil liability if they were found to have acted in “good faith” with public health rules during the pandemic.
The bill has been introduced in the Alberta Government after lobbying from the Alberta Continuing Care Association, which represents for-profit and non-profit operators in the province, reports CBC.
Lawyers representing continuing-care residents and their families in class action lawsuits have said that they will file a constitutional challenge against Bill 70 if it is passed by the legislature.
According to the government, two statements have already been filed against non-profit operators, and two separate statements have been filed against private, for-profit operators.
Guardian Law Partner Mathew Farrell, who represents plaintiffs in a $25 million class action lawsuit against continuing care operator Revera Living, told CBC that the bill was particularly concerning given the threat of a lawsuit, “is one of the few things left that still forces corporations to act responsibly.”
“Why would you take that away? Seniors are already a vulnerable group, and they put their lives in the hands of these care homes and they should have the right to hold them accountable,” Farrell said.
In Alberta, 1,248 of the 2,054 reported COVID-19 deaths, or 61 per cent, have been residents of long-term or supportive care facilities, reports CBC.
Farrell added that part of Bill 70 allowed other companies to lobby for similar provisions from the government. “You shouldn’t be precluding people from getting what’s fair. No matter how much lobbying the defendant does,” he told CBC.
If the bill passes, people who have filed class action lawsuits against operators would have to change their statements to allege “gross negligence.”
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Calgary-Fish Creek Richard Gotfried, who is sponsoring the bill, told CBC that the bill would not shield any “bad apples” that did not protect residents from death or illness from COVID-19 from accountability.
However, he added that if operators met the standards of care and the public health measures that were in place, “that gives them some level of protection perhaps, and proof that needs to be proven. But that’s up to the courts.”
If Bill 70 is passed by the legislature, the changes would be retroactive to March 1, 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many class action lawsuits. In March, long-term care facility CHSLD Herron in Québec reached a $5.5 million settlement with residents and their family members after residents filed a class action lawsuit alleging neglect and a lack of care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the spring of 2020, 47 residents at the facility died due to the novel coronavirus. A lawyer for the plaintiffs told CBC that the settlement was “extremely reasonable” and he hoped other class actions against CHSLDs would result in settlements.
Did you have a loved one living in a long-term care facility during the pandemic? What was your experience? Let us know in the comments section!
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