Louisiana Nursing Home Residents Sent to Warehouse for Hurricane Class Action

Because of Hurricane Ida, this class action alleges, more than 800 nursing home residents were moved to a warehouse known as the Waterbury Building in Independence, Louisiana. The complaint alleges that the building was not equipped to handle them and claims violation of the Louisiana Nursing Home Resident Bill of Rights Act (NHRBRA).

The class for this action is all Bob Dean, Jr. nursing home residents (and their legal representatives) who were evacuated to the Waterbury warehouse in Independence, Louisiana as a result of Hurricane Ida.

The patients came from seven nursing homes. Also named as defendants are Bob Dean Enterprises, Inc. and Bob Dean, Jr., who owns the nursing homes and warehouse.

The complaint alleges that the evacuation did not follow established hurricane evacuation plans and even conflicted with existing plans and Louisiana laws.

Families of residents were told they were being taken to a hurricane-proof building with “suitable accommodations,” the complaint alleges, while officials in the warehouse’s area were told that the Waterbury Building was designed to hold 200-400 people and that around 300 people were being evacuated there.

In fact, the complaint says, the building is an industrial warehouse, and the final total of residents moved there was at least 843.

Dean and representatives of Bob Dean, Jr. Enterprises, Inc. had cots set up “without any regard whatsoever for the social distancing measures of the required Covid-19 protocols. A large number of mattresses were placed on the floor, toe to toe and side by side, with little to no space between them.”

Residents were not given “any semblance of privacy” nor were “basic personal hygiene needs” sufficiently addressed, the complaint claims: “There were only four sinks and ten to twelve showers available to the 843 residents, plus staff. The only bathrooms were a small number of port-a-lets, which were placed in the same location as the ‘feeding area’ for residents.” Nor were there enough skilled staff to attend to the patients, according to the complaint.

The first residents arrived on August 27, 2021. According to the complaint, there were not enough beds and some people were forced to sleep in their wheelchairs or on concrete floors.

The lack of ventilation made temperatures rise, the complaint says, while odors from the toilets made staff and residents gag or vomit.

Finally, the warehouse was not hurricane proof, and water intruded, floating mattresses. Trash piled up, the air conditioning went off, and there was not enough food and water. Attendants could not meet needs for changes of diapers and clothing. The complaint reports, “Many residents spent as many as six (6) days in the fetid warehouse with overflowing toilets and piled-up trash.”

The complaint alleges that at least seven residents died and at least fourteen others “were hospitalized for their injuries and severe degradation of the medical conditions.”

Although the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) sent people out to inspect the facility, they were forbidden entry. They finally rescued the residents on September 1, 2021.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Patient Care
Tags: Assisted Living or Senior Care, Negligence, Nursing Homes, Senior Care