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Thirteen families – including seven whose children have died – have reached a $ 6.2 million deal with the former operators of a Passaic County pediatric care facility accused of delaying hospital care after a viral outbreak in 2018, their lawyer said.
The families alleged in the wrongful death lawsuit that the Wanaque Nursing and Rehabilitation Center did not immediately notify parents of the outbreak that began in September 2018, then waited too long to transfer the infected children to the hospital, despite the pleas of loved ones that they receive a higher standard of care.
A total of 35 children were infected and 11 died from adenovirus, a usually mild disease that wreaked havoc on the weakened immune systems of disabled children who lived in Wanaque. An employee was also infected.
The settlement means there has been no admission of wrongdoing, said Paul da Costa, who represents the 13 families. The settlement was paid by the insurer of the old facility, he said.
“My clients believe that justice has been achieved and that the experiences and deaths of their children have not been simply glossed over,” said da Costa. “They hope this will never happen to other children in the future.”
Some of the infected children who survived spent months in hospital and “were on the verge of death,” he said.
These parents were “warriors” in the care of their children, added da Costa. “These children had many medical problems and a limited life expectancy”, but that does not diminish “the value of all human life”.
The nursing home was sold in 2019 and renamed the Phoenix Center for Rehabilitation and Pediatrics.
An investigation by the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services concluded that the lack of leadership, the lack of an infection control plan and an absent medical director kept the epidemic raging for 11 weeks. . The federal agency fined the facility $ 600,000.
New Jersey health officials at the time also halted admissions and imposed a penalty of $ 20,965 for infection control violations.
The tragedy also sparked legislative hearings and a law requiring outbreak response plans for long-term care facilities licensed to provide care to residents on ventilators.
“Through this process my clients were able to bring to light what was a very dark situation,” said da Costa. “They have testified in legislative hearings, which resulted in a new law requiring long-term care facilities to have epidemic plans by February 2020.
“The sad and ironic part was these kids and what happened to them was a harbinger of what was to come with COVID,” he added. “They were better prepared for COVID. “
Five other families have settled their cases with Wanaque. Their lawyers could not be reached immediately for comment.
Lawyers for the establishment’s former owners, Daniel Bruckstein and Eugene Ehrenfeld, did not respond to a request for comment.
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NJ Advance Media Staff Writer Spencer Kent contributed to this report.
Susan K. Livio can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio.
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