A nursing home near Pittsburgh says federal law and a Congressional declaration give it immunity from the wrongful death lawsuit filed against it in October over the facility’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis.
Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services LLC, which operates the Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Beaver County, recently filed a motion to dismiss the civil suit on the grounds it is protected against liability by the federal Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act. The families of ten deceased residents of the nursing home and five living residents brought the case against Brighton and Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services.
They claim the facility was negligent in its treatment of patients and in its failure to adequately prevent the spread of infection. Those actions, the plaintiffs claim, caused numerous residents to contract the coronavirus, at least ten of whom died from it.
“Congress has declared that healthcare providers, such as defendants, who are working tirelessly to combat the COVID-19 global pandemic, are entitled to protection from lawsuits that second guess the manner in which they have administered countermeasures during this national public health emergency,” the nursing home management company’s motion argues. “The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented and ongoing crisis that has warranted constant adjustment by our healthcare providers.”
In its defense, the nursing home says it followed the guidance of the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “and other public health authorities” at every stage of the coronavirus pandemic. The agencies “have issued continuously evolving recommendations, guidance, and advice based on the science of the moment,” resulting in an evolving strategy at the nursing home, too, the motion to dismiss the case says.
‘The challenges and tragedies presented by COVID-19 have reinforced the critical need for legal immunities so that individuals and entities like Defendants are not subject to lawsuits that will hinder and discourage their critical and ongoing work to treat and prevent the spread,” the motion reads. “This court can and should decide now, as a matter of law, that Defendants are immune from liability.”
Delaying dismissal of the lawsuit will force Brighton and Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services to divert some of their resources to defending themselves against the claims “in the middle of an unprecedented pandemic,” their representatives argue.
Have you or a loved one contracted COVID-19 while in a nursing home? Tell us about it in the comment section below.
Gill and the other plaintiffs are represented by Robert F. Daley and Elizabeth Chiappetta of Robert Peirce & Associates P.C.; Peter D. Giglione of Massa Butler Giglione; and Kelly M. Tocci of McMillen Urick Tocci & Jones.
The Nursing Home Lawsuit is Jodi Gill, et al. v Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services LLC , et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-1754-CB in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
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One thought on Nursing Home Argues for Immunity Against Wrongful COVID-19 Death Suit
My father was in a nursing home in Colorado and was tested for COVID 4-18-20 & confirmed he was positive 4-22-20 & died 4-23-20.