COVID-19 Litigation And The Nursing Home Industry

Nursing homes and managed care facilities across the country have been coronavirus hot spots, accounting for hundreds of thousands of cases.

Often filled with elderly patients with underlying health conditions living in close quarters, these facilities have been a perfect breeding ground for the virus.

Along with the cruise ship industry, owners and operators of these facilities were among the first targets of pandemic related litigation. This first wave of cases includes:

In New York, an action against a nursing home facility and rehabilitation center for negligence and wrongful death. The plaintiff alleged that their relative contracted and died from COVID-19 while being treated by the facility.

In Oregon, an action for elder abuse and negligence against a senior living facility, seeking damages in excess of $2.4 million. This same facility was the target of a separate wrongful death action filed days before as a result of alleged “incompetent response to the pandemic.”