Attorney general defends limit on LTC suits
Proposed bill would limit civil action against homes to gross negligence cases
Too many lawsuits from families who lost loved ones to COVID-19 in long-term care would “gum up” the legal system, Attorney General Doug Downey says.
His warning came with Premier Doug Ford’s government on the defensive over a proposed bill that would make it harder to sue nursing homes for damages over rapid transmission of the virus, which has spread to another 790 Ontarians and caused nine more deaths. Twenty of the infections and two of the deaths were long-term-care residents, the Ministry of Health reported Wednesday.
Downey faced stiff criticism from opposition parties for the bill and his remark in the legislature’s daily question period that lawsuits would clog the courts.
“To suggest people trying to get justice are blocking up our system is shameful,” New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath shot back, accusing Ford of shielding long-term-care corporations at the expense of ordinary citizens.
“Shame on (Premier) Doug Ford. He promised many times … people were going to be held to account.”
Downey said the bill will limit civil suits to cases of gross negligence, providing liability protection for nursing homes, other health care organizations, businesses, charities, their staff and volunteers who made “good faith efforts” to follow public health guidelines and prevent the inadvertent spread of COVID-19.
Ford defended the approach as lawyers expressed concern the law means many lawsuits already filed could be dismissed, while grieving families expressed anger that they may not get answers.
“A lot of people lost loved ones in homes that weren’t negligent. It’s a terrible, terrible disease,” Ford told his daily news conference. “My heart breaks.”
The legislation is needed because a flurry of claims laying blame for cases of COVID-19 “could put thousands and thousands of businesses out of business,” the premier added.
Downey said “bad actors” in the nursing home sector should be “on guard.” “They are in harm’s way and we will let them go in harm’s way.”
A report from the Canadian Armed Forces last spring detailed horrific conditions that military medical teams, requested by Ford, found in several hard-hit nursing homes, such as residents left malnourished because they couldn’t feed themselves or forcefully fed in a rush to the point of choking.
More than 6,400 of the province’s 78,000 nursing home residents have been infected to date and 1,981 have died. Another 2,781nursing home staff have tested positive and eight were killed by the virus.
Green Leader Mike Schreiner called the legislation a “slap in the face of people seeking justice” and predicted it will be challenged in court because it is retroactive to March 17, when a provincial lockdown began.
“There’s already lawsuits that have been filed.”
Ford should be concentrating on helping long-term-care homes hire more personal support workers, improve infection prevention and control, and faster COVID-19 testing and results to keep a lid on outbreaks, said Liberal House Leader John Fraser.
Cathy Parkes, whose father, Paul, died in Pickering’s Orchard Villa nursing home last April during a massive outbreak there, told the Star she will continue with her $1.6 million lawsuit.
“It seems kind of underhanded to do this to my family and other families after everything we’ve been through,” she said of the legislation.