Operator of Senior Care Homes Facing Class Action Lawsuit Over COVID-19 Response

Senior care home class action lawsuits are piling up, with another complaint filed by a family who says that they did not know that their loved one had coronavirus until they received the death certificate.

Lead plaintiff, Michael McCarroll, alleges that his mother, a resident of the Anson Place Care Centre run by Responsive Group, died “alone” of COVID-19 related complications on March 30. The senior care homes class action lawsuit alleges that a resident of Eatonville Care Centre, also run by the defendant, had been neglected by nursing home staff in the weeks leading up to his death on April 11.

This proposed care home class action lawsuit, filed in Ontario Superior Court, claims that their loved one, as well as other residents of Responsive Group Inc. nursing homes were left alone to die of COVID-19, with their families not even aware that they were sick.

According to the care home class action lawsuit, as of April 23, 2020, 71 residents in Responsive Care facilities have died in the province, representing nearly 10 percent of Ontario’s deaths attributed to COVID-19. The nursing homes named in the complaint include the following Ontario facilities:

• Anson Place Care Centre
• Cooksville Care Centre
• Earls Court Village
• Eatonville Care Centre
• Hawthorne Place Care Centre
• Vermont Square

The plaintiff alleges that the operator of the nursing homes, Responsive Group, failed to properly care for its residents by failing to follow proper practices that would have prevented and contained the COVID-19 outbreak, failed to plan for the pandemic, and failed to provide adequate staffing to care for residents during the pandemic.

In addition, the class action lawsuit charges the operator with failing to adequately communicate with families, leading to many to receive unexpected news that their loved one had died of coronavirus.

“In most cases, [the residents] died alone without their families and loved ones at their side. In many cases, family members of those who died were not even aware that their parents and grandparents were sick,” states the complaint.

Further, Responsive Group allegedly failed to provide proper protective equipment to staff, visitors and residents. They also allegedly failed to properly screen for COVID-19. The care homes class action lawsuit also accuses the operator of breach of contract.

The Ontario care home class action lawsuit is seeking $15 million in punitive and exemplary damages on behalf of a proposed Class of both living and deceased residents of Responsive Group’s nursing homes since Jan 10, 2020, along with family members.

“For those class members who survive the outbreak of COVID-19 in the Homes, they have endured harsh and intolerable treatment,” contends the proposed care homes class action lawsuit.

For its part, Responsive Group told local news source, The Star, “It is equally important that all parties in such matters have the opportunity to present information to the court and for it to be reviewed and thoughtfully considered. The court will then have to determine whether a concern merits certification.”

The care homes’ operator also told reporters that it will “continue to work closely with government, public health units and our health care partners to accelerate testing, initiate outbreak protocols, and comply with all directives,” says the statement.

The care home class action lawsuit will need to be certified by a judge to proceed. 

Two other class action lawsuits have been filed against care homes in Quebec after family members accused the operators of the facilities of failing to properly protect and care for their loved ones.

The elderly are particularly susceptible to contracting and suffering severe complications from coronavirus. Nursing homes have become hotbeds for COVID-19 related deaths.

Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that Canada was failing its seniors, in his daily briefing.

“We need to do better,” Trudeau said. “Because we are failing our parents, our grandparents, our elders – the greatest generation who built this country. We need to care for them properly.”

As a measure to protect residents in care homes, families have been barred from visiting their loved ones in the facilities. Both Ontario and Quebec have requested assistance from Canada’s military to help at nursing homes, citing low staffing numbers and climbing rates of coronavirus cases.

“In Canada, we shouldn’t have soldiers taking care of seniors,” remarked Trudeau in his briefing. “Going forward in the weeks and months to come, we will all have to ask tough questions about how it came to this.”

Have you or a loved one faced neglect in a nursing or long-term care home during the coronavirus pandemic? Tell us your story in the comment section below!

The plaintiff and proposed Class Members are represented by Tyr LLP.

The Care Home COVID Neglect Class Action Lawsuit is Michael McCarroll v. Responsive Group Inc.

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