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Lioubov (Luba) Ijnatieva was “left to suffer” in an Ottawa long-term care home, according to a proposed class action lawsuit seeking millions in damages from two Ontario-based long-term care providers.
Statements of claim filed in Ontario Superior Court by Toronto medical malpractice attorney Amani Oakley allege Extendicare Inc., which operates the West End Villa where Ijnatieva was a resident, and Sienna Senior Living Inc. were “systemically negligent” toward residents in their care.
None of the allegations contained in the two court filings has been proven in court. The proposed class actions have not been certified by a judge.
Flanked by family members of the plaintiffs named in the suits, Oakley staged a news conference in Toronto on Thursday where she outlined the shocking and at times gruesome allegations of neglect.
Ijnatieva, who died last January at age 91, had been a resident of Extendicare’s West End Villa since 2007. According to court filings, Ijnatieva was “left to suffer from continuing issues with falls, inadequate general care and inadequate wound care. … She was not properly cared for, nor was she carefully monitored.”
The senior was confined to a wheelchair and was “entirely dependent” on nursing home staff to care for a leg wound she had suffered.
West End Villa staff later discovered, in October 2016, the bandaged wound had been infested with fly maggots.
The Ottawa police elder abuse unit investigated, but determined the case was not a criminal matter.
Her “horrified” daughter, Lara Gerol, told the National Post in 2016 nursing home staff appeared to downplay the incident in a letter from the home’s administrators. In it, the administrator claims Ijnatieva had refused to have her bandage changed – a claim Gerol said would be completely out of character for her mother – suggested the woman had been infested while spending time in the residence’s garden, where flies are plentiful, and made the claim that, in some countries, maggots are actually used to treat wounds.
Gerol previously sued West End Villa in 2014 after she asked staff to move a resident from her mother’s room, telling the National Post she believed the resident was “very dangerous.” The request was denied and her mother was subsequently attacked by the resident. That case was eventually settled out of court.
Other injuries and ailments outlined in the most recent statements of claim include residents at other long-term care homes suffering from bed sores, malnutrition and infections.
The statements of claim allege both Extendicare and Sienna Senior Living breached their fiduciary and contractual responsibilities to residents.
“That is unacceptable. It’s simply unacceptable,” Oakley said at the news conference Thursday. Oakley’s firm has partnered with two others to form the Nursing Homes Action Coalition, which has launched a website inviting additional plaintiffs to come forward.
“Our office and the offices of the colleagues we’re working with on this are inundated daily with these calls,” she said. “One of the motivations for coming forward with these class actions was the sheer number of times we heard the same stories.”
Oakley is calling for governments to crack down on alleged neglect at long-term care facilities by shutting down offending homes or levying heavy fines, rather than simply “catalogue the abuses.”
The Ontario government recently rolled out a searchable online database cataloguing complaints.
Ontario Health and Long-Term Care Minister Helena Jaczek said her government is “continuously working to improve” long-term care in the province.
“This includes new enforcement tools such as financial penalties and provincial offences for operators who repeatedly do not comply” with provincial regulations, Jaczek said in a statement.
“We have done more to improve resident safety and well-being in this mandate than ever before, and we will continue to take action to ensure transparency in our health-care system.”
Extendicare West End Villa, located on Elmira Drive, is currently listed in “good standing” on the provincial database.
Extendicare said in an emailed statement it does “not believe this lawsuit has merit,” and intends to defend itself “through the court process.”
“Extendicare has very comprehensive programs which ensure that residents of its homes are appropriately cared for and conducts regular internal audits, external audits, and program evaluations to continuously improve, and our performance is shared publicly,” the statement said.
Sienna Senior Living said in an emailed statement it is “currently reviewing” the claim, saying the health and well-being of all residents is the company’s “primary focus.”
The lawsuits seek a total of $300 million in damages from the two companies, including $100 million each in “aggravated and punitive damages.”
— With from The Canadian Press and the National Post
ahelmer@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/helmera
查看原文...
Statements of claim filed in Ontario Superior Court by Toronto medical malpractice attorney Amani Oakley allege Extendicare Inc., which operates the West End Villa where Ijnatieva was a resident, and Sienna Senior Living Inc. were “systemically negligent” toward residents in their care.
None of the allegations contained in the two court filings has been proven in court. The proposed class actions have not been certified by a judge.
Flanked by family members of the plaintiffs named in the suits, Oakley staged a news conference in Toronto on Thursday where she outlined the shocking and at times gruesome allegations of neglect.
Ijnatieva, who died last January at age 91, had been a resident of Extendicare’s West End Villa since 2007. According to court filings, Ijnatieva was “left to suffer from continuing issues with falls, inadequate general care and inadequate wound care. … She was not properly cared for, nor was she carefully monitored.”
The senior was confined to a wheelchair and was “entirely dependent” on nursing home staff to care for a leg wound she had suffered.
West End Villa staff later discovered, in October 2016, the bandaged wound had been infested with fly maggots.
The Ottawa police elder abuse unit investigated, but determined the case was not a criminal matter.
Her “horrified” daughter, Lara Gerol, told the National Post in 2016 nursing home staff appeared to downplay the incident in a letter from the home’s administrators. In it, the administrator claims Ijnatieva had refused to have her bandage changed – a claim Gerol said would be completely out of character for her mother – suggested the woman had been infested while spending time in the residence’s garden, where flies are plentiful, and made the claim that, in some countries, maggots are actually used to treat wounds.
Gerol previously sued West End Villa in 2014 after she asked staff to move a resident from her mother’s room, telling the National Post she believed the resident was “very dangerous.” The request was denied and her mother was subsequently attacked by the resident. That case was eventually settled out of court.
Other injuries and ailments outlined in the most recent statements of claim include residents at other long-term care homes suffering from bed sores, malnutrition and infections.
The statements of claim allege both Extendicare and Sienna Senior Living breached their fiduciary and contractual responsibilities to residents.
“That is unacceptable. It’s simply unacceptable,” Oakley said at the news conference Thursday. Oakley’s firm has partnered with two others to form the Nursing Homes Action Coalition, which has launched a website inviting additional plaintiffs to come forward.
“Our office and the offices of the colleagues we’re working with on this are inundated daily with these calls,” she said. “One of the motivations for coming forward with these class actions was the sheer number of times we heard the same stories.”
Oakley is calling for governments to crack down on alleged neglect at long-term care facilities by shutting down offending homes or levying heavy fines, rather than simply “catalogue the abuses.”
The Ontario government recently rolled out a searchable online database cataloguing complaints.
Ontario Health and Long-Term Care Minister Helena Jaczek said her government is “continuously working to improve” long-term care in the province.
“This includes new enforcement tools such as financial penalties and provincial offences for operators who repeatedly do not comply” with provincial regulations, Jaczek said in a statement.
“We have done more to improve resident safety and well-being in this mandate than ever before, and we will continue to take action to ensure transparency in our health-care system.”
Extendicare West End Villa, located on Elmira Drive, is currently listed in “good standing” on the provincial database.
Extendicare said in an emailed statement it does “not believe this lawsuit has merit,” and intends to defend itself “through the court process.”
“Extendicare has very comprehensive programs which ensure that residents of its homes are appropriately cared for and conducts regular internal audits, external audits, and program evaluations to continuously improve, and our performance is shared publicly,” the statement said.
Sienna Senior Living said in an emailed statement it is “currently reviewing” the claim, saying the health and well-being of all residents is the company’s “primary focus.”
The lawsuits seek a total of $300 million in damages from the two companies, including $100 million each in “aggravated and punitive damages.”
— With from The Canadian Press and the National Post
ahelmer@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/helmera
查看原文...
