According to a New York Times (NYT) data analysis last updated on May 11th, one-third of all Coronavirus deaths in the United States (about 28,000) are residents or workers at nursing homes and other long term care facilities. More than 153,000 have been sickened by the virus at almost 8,000 facilities across the nation.
Pennsylvania and New Jersey are among 14 states where more than half of the state’s total number of Coronavirus fatalities occurred among long-term care facility residents or workers. We’ve included below data represented in a NYT analysis which shows Coronavirus infections and deaths in the 14 states where long-term care facility deaths account for more than half of the total number of Covid deaths statewide:
Cases and deaths in long-term care facilities, by state
| State | Facilities | Cases | Deaths | Share of State Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | 528 | 26,237 | 4,855 | 52% | Pennsylvania | 539 | 13,290 | 2,529 | 66% |
| Delaware | 23 | 450 | 137 | 61% |
| Massachusetts | 471 | 15,965 | 2,922 | 59% |
| Connecticut | 219 | 6,468 | 1,627 | 55% |
| Colorado | 138 | 3,832 | 557 | 57% |
| Virginia | 160 | 3,707 | 489 | 58% |
| Minnesota | 160 | 1,369 | 472 | 80% |
| North Carolina | 86 | 2,499 | 322 | 57% |
| Rhode Island | 52 | 1,905 | 314 | 73% |
| Kentucky | 81 | 1,419 | 177 | 57% |
| Oregon | 35 | 431 | 68 | 54% |
| West Virginia | 27 | 328 | 43 | 80% |
| Vermont | 6 | 169 | 29 | 54% |
Legislation Introduced Trying to Protect Nursing Homes from Litigation
While thousands of families nationwide are mourning the deaths of their loved ones due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has introduced legislation aimed at diverting attention from the government’s undeniable lack of preparation and scapegoating trial lawyers in order to protect large corporations in the nursing home industry. The legislation would provide blanket immunity to nursing homes and long-term care facilities. This means that these facilities would be protected by law from civil litigation, regardless of whether or not they took the proper precautions to protect residents. If this proposal becomes law, families who lost loved ones as a result of poor care and negligent treatment would not be able to recover for their losses and nursing homes would have no incentive to provide adequate, life-sustaining care.
The nursing home industry is already laden with problems, from forced-arbitration clauses hidden inside contracts, to medicare and medicaid fraud, to the for-profit corporations that own these facilities cutting corners in order to protect their bottom lines. Shielding these companies from liability would only serve to make our most vulnerable population even more vulnerable.
Nursing Home Negligence in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware
Attorneys at Messa & Associates have extensive experience representing victims of nursing home negligence and abuse. If your loved one has suffered from poor care and negligent treatment in a nursing home or long term care facility, contact our office to speak with an attorney today. Your elderly family members deserve respectful, attentive, and effective treatment and care. Anything less falls below the standard of care and is likely cause for legal action. You can call our offices toll-free at 877-637-7252 or submit an online inquiry.
