Proposed class-action suit alleges care homes failed to respond to COVID-19
By
Betsy Powell Courts Reporter
Sun., April 26, 2020
A legal document claims that a resident of Eatonville Care Centre in Etobicoke complained about being neglected before dying of
COVID-19 on April 11, and the first time his family received any indication that he was suffering from the disease was when they received the death certificate.
The allegation — which has not been proven — is contained in a proposed class-action lawsuit filed in Ontario Superior Court on Friday that alleges the defendant, Responsive Group Inc., failed to “properly and adequately plan for and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Responsive Group and its subsidiaries operate multiple long-term-care homes in Ontario, including three in Toronto and one Mississauga. The statement of claim alleges the defendants breached their duties of care by “failing, in the homes that they own, to ensure adequate staffing to care for the elderly residents, and by failing to comply with public health guidance, directives, and other requirements issued by the provincial and federal government.”
The statement of claim says that as of April 23, 71 people living in the defendants’ homes have died — more than 10 per cent of COVID-19 related deaths in Ontario. “In most cases, they 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.”
A proposed class action lawsuit alleges Responsive Group, which operates multiple long-term care homes in Ontario, failed to properly plan for and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. A statement of defence has not yet been filed.
www.thestar.com