New York Nursing Home COVID-19 Deaths
If your loved one died of COVID-19 in a New York nursing home, you may be entitled to money damages.
Family members that lost a loved one while residing under the care of a New York nursing home during the COVID-19 pandemic might be entitled to substantial compensation. Get a FREE consultation to learn more about your legal options.
We know that nothing can bring back the loss of a loved one, but it may lessen unexpected financial responsibilities associated with remaining medical bills and funeral expenses. For a free consultation with an experienced New York personal injury attorney, call 888-999-2222, chat with a live representative now, or share your details through an online form. The call, case review, and consultation are provided without obligation to pursue legal recourse.
Unreported New York Nursing Home Deaths
New York is one of the only states in the United States which only includes people who die from coronavirus inside nursing homes.
More significantly, New York does not include residents who are transported to hospitals because of COVID-19 complications and later pass away at those medical facilities.
Recent reports question the accuracy and transparency of the total number of coronavirus-related deaths to residents of New York nursing homes, stating that there could be a discrepancy of 50 percent.
According to investigations initiated by Attorney General Letitia James, only 1,229 deaths of residents from COVID-19 were logged by the state’s Department of Health of the 62 nursing homes sampled. This total does not match what the attorney general’s investigators reported to be the deaths of 1,914 residents from COVID-19.
Why the Location of COVID-19 Deaths Matters
If the COVID-19 death total of all nursing home residents in New York was tallied, the numbers would jump from just over 8,700 to more than 13,000. This increase would then rank New York as the sixth-highest state in the nation for coronavirus-related nursing home deaths.
The current policy to only share death totals by location is believed by many to have contributed to nursing home outbreaks and deaths among long-term residents, as well as recovering COVID-19 patients who were released to the care of nursing homes.
Nursing homes are bound by a legal duty of reasonable care to ensure long and short-term residents are safe and healthy, which includes protecting residents against infectious diseases such as coronavirus. This is especially true for residents that may have pre-existing health conditions that can make it more difficult for them to fight off viral infections.
As such, a breach of duty could result in a nursing home injury or even death. Victims of this breach and their families could then be entitled to compensation. Compensation usually includes money for medical bills and pain and suffering.
Duty of Care Breached During Pandemic
The New York Department of Health shared that many nursing homes were cited for not complying with state safety protocols and violated executive orders, putting nursing home residents at increased risks for illnesses.
More specifically, some nursing home owners are alleged to have known—or at least should have known—about a coronavirus outbreak on site, did nothing to correct the situation, and also did not inform families in “real time” when a COVID-19-related infection or death occurred at their facility.
Victims of nursing home COVID-19 deaths in New York deserve justice. Taking legal actions against those negligent in performing their duty of reasonable care puts dangerous nursing home conditions on notice to fix unsafe conditions and change business operations for the better.
Preventative Measures to Protect Residents Against COVID-19
Nursing home owners should ensure that proper reasonable preventative measures are taken to help prevent residents and staff against a COVID-19 infection. If a nursing home owner fails to uphold a duty of reasonable care and breaches that duty, they could be held liable for damages for any resulting injuries or wrongful deaths.
The following are an example of the minimum of preventative measures nursing home should take to help protect residents and staff:
- Minimizing potential exposure by adhering to social distancing protocols
- Providing daily temperature checks of residents, staff, and visitors to monitor health
- Implementing advanced engineering controls regarding air filtration
- Isolating ill residents and staff
- Posting signage about frequent hand washing and proper surface sanitization
- Managing visitor movement and access
- Actively monitoring and reporting developments of illness
Repeal of the Emergency or Disaster Treatment Protection Act
On April 6, 2021, Governor Cuomo repealed the Emergency or Disaster Treatment Protection Act that previously shielded nursing homes from COVID-19-related negligence lawsuits. With the blanket of immunity removed, thousands of families who lost loved ones to COVID-19 are no longer prevented from seeking legal recourse.
If your loved one contracted coronavirus at a nursing home in New York and later died because of someone else’s negligence, our legal team is ready to aggressively fight for justice and get any entitled compensation for damages.
You can count on us not to shy away from big companies and ask the tough questions. In fact, our legal team routinely handles negligence cases on the behalf of injury victims and their families. Contact us 24/7 for a free consultation to learn more about your legal options. Just call 888-999-2222, use our convenient LiveChat feature, or share your details through a confidential online form now to connect with our legal team.