The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Lamont to end hospital, nursing home COVID lawsuit shield
Gov. Ned Lamont’s latest executive order will end some COVID liability protections for hospitals and nursing homes.
The move, effective March 1, was hailed by groups including the AARP, but an operator of two nursing homes opposes the order, warning that it could lead to a flood of frivolous lawsuits as a time when insurance premiums are already skyrocketing.
And the Connecticut Hospital Association said it was “exdtremely disappointed” with the impending withdrawal of protections against civil liabilities.
The different liability standard was enacted early last year in the pandemic, when the state had scarce personal protective equipment, as well as little knowledge of the virus. Neither hospitals nor nursing homes were protected from lawsuits for negligence or malfeasance, but mistakes made by medical professionals, some of whom were coming out of retirement to help in the pandemic, were covered by the immunity.
“If you remember back in March, April, May, COVID was hitting us hard, we were bringing a lot of retired folks, retired nurses and others who were there to help out in the hospitals, help out in the nursing homes, trying to keep up with something we were learning about every day,” Gov. Lamont said during his Monday news briefing. “At that point it was unfair, we thought, to hold people legally accountable for a situation that was so-fastevolving.”
He said that now, facilities are at acceptable capacities, and more and more people are getting vaccinated.
Lamont posted the executive order on his website during the mid-afternoon on Monday.
“We held nursing homes accountable,” Lamont said, detailing the shutdown of one nursing home and penalties leveled against others, while inspectors increased inspections. “We thought there was too much changing, too much uncertainty in terms of what was going on in COVID back during the spring. That’s not the case in February. It’s a different situation, so people should be held accountable.”
Lamont said he was not aware of any COVID-related lawsuits that might have been filed.
“I am very pleased Gov. Lamont has decided it is time to put nursing home residents and their families first,” said Nora Duncan, State Director of AARP Connecticut. “AARP Connecticut applauds the State’s successful efforts to prioritize nursing home residents in its vaccine roll-out and thanks Governor Lamont for his decision to repeal civil immunity for nursing homes.”
She noted that the state’s focus on vaccinating nursing home residents has resulted in nearly all residents receiving their inoculations, as fatalities have decreased in those facilities by 70 percent.
But Paul Liistro, CEO of Vernon Manor and Manchester Manor nursing homes, said it’s too early in the pandemic to pull away the protections. “I was very impressed when the governor showed insight and foresight in the effort to stop frivolous lawsuits,” Liistro said in a phone interview Monday night. “I thought he did a great job. But to lift it at all for COVID-related reasons would never be appropriate.”
Liistro said that many nursing home residents of color continue to balk at vaccinations.
Liistro noted that with new strains of the coronavirus being found, no one is sure whether they can be more fatal to residents of nursing homes, where 70 percent of the state’s fatalities have occurred. “It’s obvious it was a situation of the compromised immune system and not one thing that any nursing home did,” he said, stressing that the price of his liability insurance has gone up 80 percent over the last year.
“Unfortunately the governor has lost his foresight and insight, and now is putting us in the jeopardy of being sued,” Liistro said. “He has done the wrong thing. It was originally a wise, brave decision, and then he caved.”
The Connecticut Hospital Association, in a statement, said officials there are reviewing the order to understand the effects.
“Hospitals and health systems have responded fearlessly and with unquestioning dedication under uncertain and changing circumstances over the twelve months since this pandemic began,” said the statement issued Monday night. “We continue the fight against the pandemic for the good of our communities and our patients.”