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A law firm announced that it was filing a proposed class action lawsuit against Altamont Care Community over allegations that the facility failed to properly protect and care for residents affected by the coronavirus.
This class action lawsuit is one of many filed against nursing homes and their operators in Ontario in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, it is not the first one filed against the operator of Altamont Care Community, Sienna Senior Living Inc. In late May, the Diamond and Diamond law firm announced that it would expand a proposed class action lawsuit filed against the operator, seeking $100 million in damages over claims that Sienna Senior Living failed to properly respond to the disease targeting the elderly and those with underlying health conditions.
Now, another law firm, Thomson Rogers, says that it will pursue $20 million in damages against Sienna Senior Living for failing to protect residents of Altamont Care Community; 53 of whom have died from COVID-19, according to the law firm’s website.
“Altamont is a long-term care home owned by Sienna Senior Living Inc., located in Scarborough, Ontario. At least 53 residents at Altamont have died as a result of contracting COVID-19 and related illnesses since March 17, 2020,” states the website. “It is alleged that following Ontario’s declaration of a State of Emergency on March 17, 2020, Altamont failed to implement screening measures of its staff and basic social distancing practices, including the separation of infected and non-infected residents. It is alleged that during this period, there was severe under-staffing at Altamont and a failure to provide basic personal protective equipment to Altamont’s staff.”
The lead plaintiffs in the proposed class action lawsuit include an adult child of two residents of Altamont Community Care. According to the lawsuit, Vasuki Uttamalingan’s mother and father both resided at the facility run by Sienna Senior Living. Vasuki’s father contracted coronavirus at the facility and died in April. His mother also contracted the virus and was sent to the hospital. She is currently in recovery.
The other lead plaintiff is Pahirathan Pooranalingam, whose mother died after contracting COVID-19 at Altamont Care Community, according to Thomson Rogers’s website. According to the law firm, she contracted coronavirus at the care facility and was transferred to a hospital where she died on April 25, 2020.
“Vasuki and Pahirathan represent family members of the victims who have lost loved ones, without given the opportunity to say good-bye, as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak at Altamont,” states the law firm’s website detailing the Altamont class action lawsuit.
According to the complaint, Altamont Community Care came into the coronavirus pandemic with citations for corrective actions from 2019. These citations allegedly included failure to ensure staff participation, and compliance with, infection prevention and control programs, and failure to document infected residents.
Thomson Rogers goes on to detail how, after Ontario declared a State of Emergency in March due to the pandemic, the care facility failed to properly screen staff and use social distancing measures to stop the spread of the disease. The Altamont class action lawsuit says that infected residents and non-infected residents were not separated. Additionally, staff was allegedly not provided sufficient protective equipment and the facility suffered from severe under-staffing.
In addition, points out the law firm, the Canadian Armed Forces were sent to monitor “severe deficiencies and shortfalls” at Altamont Community Care in April. The inspection revealed “horrendous living conditions” at the facility, alleges the class action lawsuit. Issues included lack of food for residents, residents bound to their beds for weeks at a time, failure to provide adequate hygiene and sanitation, and staff not tracking the locations of residents within the facility.
“Vasuki, Pahirathan and their families, as well as other families of the victims and survivors of Altamont, seek compensation for their tragic losses,” states the law firm’s website detailing the Altamont Care Community class action lawsuit. “Vasuki and Pahirathan support the proposed independent commission into Ontario’s long-term care system, which they hope will result in meaningful change to ensure that a tragedy like this is never repeated in Ontario’s vulnerable long-term care population.”
For its part, a representative for Sienna Senior Living issued the following statement in response to the class action lawsuit:
“We want to assure the families of our residents that we are very well-equipped to continue to care for our residents throughout the pandemic. At this time, our focus is solely on the care and well-being of our residents and team members and we are working collaboratively with all partners to ensure that each of our long-term care homes meets and surpasses ministry standards.”
Are you or a loved one a resident of Altamont Care Community? Are you concerned about coronavirus in the facility? Tell us your story in the comment box below!
The plaintiffs and proposed Class Members are represented by Thomson Rogers.
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