North Carolina Nursing Home Being Sued by Family of Resident After COVID-19 Outbreak
A North Carolina nursing home is under investigation, and a family has filed a personal injury lawsuit on behalf of a resident seriously ill with COVID-19. The lawsuit claims negligence and reckless conduct by the facility’s management and staff and is asking for $25,000 in damages and a jury trial.
State and county health officials have identified the facility as the site of a COVID-19 outbreak with at least 102 confirmed cases of the virus.
The family of the resident reported that she was paying $11,000 per month for a private room, and that after she developed a UTI and a fever, she was moved into a room with another resident with COVID-19. The facility, which is owned and controlled by a private equity investment firm in New York, is accused of failing to track the virus and take proper steps to protect the resident and others from the pandemic. After the outbreak hit the facility, the family complained about not being able to talk with staff by phone and being left in the dark about the resident’s condition. The nursing home’s staff also complained about not being provided proper personal protective equipment (PPE) and about the corporate office’s lack of communication with them.
In addition to the other allegations, the lawsuit alleges that the facility was not adequately staffed, and that it was cited for “unsafe and unsanitary” conditions in February that were not corrected. There is also a claim that the facility provided a substandard level of care due to a lack of awareness during the COVID-19 crisis, and that corporate owners did not use their available resources to ensure a proper level of care and safety for residents at the facility.
Compliance Perspective
Failing to implement an effective Infection Control Program when faced with a pandemic like the Coronavirus, failing to correct cited “unsafe and unsanitary” deficiencies after an inspection, failing to allocate adequate PPE for staff along with an insufficient number of staff to provide care for the residents, and failing to keep residents who are ill from non-COVID-19 conditions separated from persons diagnosed with COVID-19 may be viewed as provision of substandard quality of care, in violation of state and federal regulations. Additionally, these failures may lead to the possibility of legal claims of negligence and reckless conduct.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures regarding the facility’s Infection Control Plan and Emergency Preparedness Plan if faced with a pandemic like COVID-19 and the resources needed to provide adequate PPE, staffing, and to take the steps needed to correct cited deficiencies involving safety and sanitary conditions after an inspection. Also, review the required reporting and communication for keeping residents, residents’ representatives, family members, and staff aware of what is happening in the facility.
- Train staff on the facility’s Infection Control Plan; the protocols for handwashing and wearing PPE; separation of residents infected with COVID-19 from non-infected residents; and relevant sections of the Emergency Preparedness Plan. Provide education on consistent staffing assignments designed to separate staff caring for COVID-19 residents or those under observation from those caring for residents who tested negative.
- Periodically audit to ensure that residents without COVID-19 and their caregivers are separated from those with COVID-19 and their caregivers, and to ensure that staff are provided with adequate PPE. Audit to determine that staff follow the Infection Control Plan’s protocols, e.g., handwashing, disposal of contaminated refuse, housekeeping procedures for disinfecting equipment and the environment, etc.
