Toronto, ON, Jan. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The law firms of Thomson Rogers and Will Davidson LLP are working together to continue to advance a class action proceeding claiming $200 million on behalf of residents of long-term care homes owned and/or operated and/or managed by Extendicare (Canada) Inc. ("Extendicare").
Extendicare owns and/or operates and/or manages 71 long term care facilities in Ontario, including Tendercare Living Centre in Scarborough, Ontario.
The class action includes all residents of long-term care facilities in Ontario which are owned and/or operated and/or managed by Extendicare, including Tendercare Living Centre ("Tendercare") in Scarborough, Ontario.
As of January 11th, 2021, 73 residents have died at Tendercare as a result of COVID-19. The tragic number of deaths at Tendercare now exceeds the number of deaths at Orchard Villa in Pickering, Ontario. These are the 2 most severely impacted homes in the province by way of the number of fatalities. Both homes are managed and operated by Extendicare.
One of the victims is Ping Qiu who is survived by her 3 children, 3 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. Ms. Qiu’s grandson, Reed Zhao, is seeking answers on behalf of his family to questions that were not answered by Tendercare.
"I believe my family deserves to know what happened to my grandmother. We were not provided with information regarding her condition. We have many questions as to why Tendercare was not prepared for the second wave and why Tendercare was not able to protect my grandmother."
Tien Ngan Luu was another resident at Tendercare who tragically passed away on December 27, 2020 after contracting COVID-19. Ms. Luu leaves behind her brother, sister and 14 nieces and nephews, including Kienmy Tran. Ms. Luu’s family is haunted by the suffering and what they believe to be a lack of basic care provided to the residents at Tendercare.
“We are seeking answers to understand the events that transpired leading up to her death, accountability and justice for her and countless others who have died due to the neglect, lack of direction and preparation by management.”
A Ministry inspection was completed at Tendercare on December 16, 2020. The inspection report found that infection control practices and the availability of PPE at Tendercare were inconsistent and that as a result, COVID-19 "spread rapidly throughout the home" resulting in widespread infection and death.
On October 10, 2014, the United States Justice Department announced that Extendicare paid a $38 million dollar settlement after an investigation into some of its American facilities, which revealed substandard nursing services. When the matter settled the Associate Attorney General stated that, "it is critically important that we confront nursing home operators who put their own economic gain ahead of the needs of their residents.”
On November 7, 2014, Extendicare announced the sale of its American portfolio of senior care communities for $870,000,000.00. It is alleged that it intended to grow and expand its business in Canada.
A few months later, the owners of Orchard Villa, Southbridge Healthcare Inc., announced that they had hired Extendicare, who they described as a “recognized leader in quality clinically based services,” to work at Orchard Villa.
Extendicare continued to pay dividends to their shareholders in 2020 during the pandemic consistent with the amounts in earlier years.
NDP Federal Leader, Jagmeet Singh was quoted on June 20, 2020 commenting on Extendicare:
“This company didn’t just earn profit, but had enough profit where they gave dividends of $10 million.”
“They were able to pay back dividends to shareholders of $10 million, meaning that they’re spending that much less on their care of their residents,” Singh said.
“They’re spending that much less on staffing, and equipment, and supplies during COVID-19.”
Thomson, Rogers and Will Davidson LLP confirm,
"The tragedy at Tendercare has resulted in an unspeakable number of deaths. The Ministry of Long-Term Care findings that Extendicare still does not have consistent infection control practices and PPE are astounding. We have been in contact with dozens of families from Tendercare and other Extendicare homes and they deserve answers."
For more information, please contact:
Will Davidson LLP
Gary Will at gwill@willdavidson.ca (905-815-5802)
Michael Reid at mreid@willdavidson.ca (905-337-9748)
Thomson Rogers
Stephen Birman at sbirman@thomsonrogers.com (416-868 3137)
Robert Ben at rben@thomsonrogers.com (416-868-3168)
Lucy Jackson at ljackson@thomsonrogers.com (416-868-3154)