Families of Sask. Extendicare residents launch class-action lawsuit against care-home company

WARNING: This story has details some readers might find disturbing

A class-action lawsuit filed in Saskatchewan is seeking damages from a large privately-run care-home company due to treatment of clients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday morning at Regina's Court of Queen's Bench by the Merchant Law Group, alleges Extendicare Inc. put residents' lives in danger during the pandemic and did not have an adequate plan in place.

"The defendants' conduct as particularized above was reckless, wanton, entirely without care, negligent, callous, and in total disregard for the residents' health and safety," reads the statement of claim.

"The defendants prioritized corporate profit over resident health care and safety."

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

Read the full statement of claim below. Don't see it? Click here.

Extendicare reacts

In an emailed statement on Wednesday, Extendicare declined to comment on the allegations.

"Our focus at this time is solely on providing quality care to our residents and supporting our families and team members," according to the statement.

"We share in the sadness of our community over the devastating toll COVID-19 has taken on Extendicare Parkside and other long-term care homes across the country. 

"We'll respond to the allegations through the appropriate legal channels in due course."

Children of 2 Parkside residents among plaintiffs

According to the statement of claim, at least 41 people have died due to COVID-19 while living in Extendicare homes. The claim says 38 deaths happened at the Extendicare Parkside home in Regina and three other patients died in other homes after being transferred from Parkside.

The lawsuit is seeking damages for a long list of complaints, including loss of life, medical treatment for long-term effects from COVID-19, and residents' pain and suffering.

The suit's two lead plaintiffs are family members of Parkside residents. Marie Albert's family claims their mother will be permanently on oxygen for the rest of her life after contracting COVID-19 and that she can no longer walk.

Gay Coles's family claims that before her death in November at the age of 83, Coles suffered from bed sores that turned into open wounds. The lawsuit goes on to say that the wounds were not properly treated and were eventually infested with maggots.

Coles' daughter, Anna Marie Tokarski, said she was denied access to her mother and believes she could have intervened. The lawsuit says Extendicare failed to ensure there was adequate staffing in place to properly care for Coles and that her situation ultimately led to her premature death.

Brian Albert is another plaintiff in the suit. His 98-year-old mother Marie contracted COVID-19 after living in a room with three other residents.

Marie survived, but must now use an oxygen tank and is weakened by the experience, Albert said. 

She's now living in a room with two other people, he added. 

"It's changed a lot already since everything went on," Albert said. "But that would never have happened until a bunch of people got sick and things started to happen and then that forced their hand."

Breach of duty

The statement of claim says Extendicare homes across the province had been flagged by the Saskatchewan Health Authority in the past. Authority reviews noted the number of four-patient rooms in many of the homes, as well as the age of the facilities.

The claim states that national building standards for new nursing homes were changed in 1999 and rooms with four people were no longer permitted due to the possibility of disease spreading. While older homes were allowed to remain as they were, the suit notes many not-for-profit care homes have since changed their setup to have a maximum of two people in a room.

"The defendants in material breach of the required standard of care did not remediate and in some of its nursing homes, including Extendicare Parkside, would place as many as eight residents in one room," read the statement of claim.

The lawsuit also claims Extendicare did not have influenza planning and preparedness measures in place before the outbreak.

The suit also says that after the pandemic was announced, Parkside did not provide sufficient PPE like masks and gowns to its workers.

"Residents who had tested positive for COVID-19 continued to share ward units and bathrooms with healthy residents," read the statement of claim.

"This unnecessarily exposed residents to mortal danger."

The lawsuit notes a since-elapsed co-management agreement between that Saskatchewan Health Authority and Extendicare Parkside that began in December 2020, as well as the provincial government's request to the Ombudsman of Saskatchewan to write a report on the Extendicare Parkside special care home.

While the statement of claim does not request a specific amount of money, the suit asks for "an award of exemplary and punitive damages that will meaningfully impact corporations of substantial proportions such as Extendicare."