Daughter files lawsuit after mother dies in nation’s first coronavirus hot spot
On the day before her mother died of the coronavirus at the Life Care Center in Kirkland, Washington, staff members told Deborah de los Angeles that the resident physician had not been on site for weeks, according to a lawsuit filed by the woman.
De los Angeles filed a lawsuit against Life Care Centers of America Inc. for fraud and the wrongful death of her mother, Twilla Morin, The Seattle Times reported.
The lawsuit filed Friday in King County Superior Court claims the facility left voicemails on March 4, telling de los Angeles her mother died after she contracted COVID-19 at the Life Care Center of Kirkland, the nation’s first hot spot for the coronavirus in the United States.
Life Care Center said in a statement: “Our hearts go out to this family and the loss they have suffered during this unprecedented viral outbreak. We are unable to comment on specific legal cases that are pending, but we wish this and all families peace. The loss of any of our residents at Life Care Center of Kirkland is felt deeply by us,” according to KING 5.
The nation’s first death was at the Kirkland facility in late February and since then there have been 129 detected cases and at least 37 deaths, according to the lawsuit.
Federal regulators fined the facility over $611,000 for “systemic failure” in responding to the outbreak of COVID-19, according to The Seattle Times. De los Angeles lawsuit accuses the company of waiting 17 days before reporting the outbreak to state or country health officials, KING 5 News reported.
“Although Defendants were on high-alert for COVID-19 since January 2020, they lacked a clear path of action leading to a systemic failure,” the lawsuit says. “Instead of quarantining residents and staff, Defendants admitted new residents and threw a Mardi Gras party.
”The center called de los Angeles early on the morning of March 3, telling her Morin’s fever spiked at 104 degrees,” The Seattle Times reported. They also told her on that call that they suspected her mother had contracted the coronavirus, according to the newspaper..
The center called de los Angeles again later that day, saying Morin was “declining quickly,” The Times reported. De los Angeles asked about the resident physician but staff told her the doctor had not been on-site for weeks, according to The Times.
Twenty-four hours later, facility staff left a voicemail telling de los Angeles her mother had died, according to KING 5.
“On an ongoing basis… Defendants suppressed, concealed, and covered-up material facts…in order to hide from residents such as Twilla Morin, the ongoing danger and threat to residents’ health,” the lawsuit says. “Defendants’ ongoing fraudulent suppression, concealment, and failure to disclose these material facts… was a direct and proximate cause of Twilla Morin’s catastrophic injuries, subsequent complications, and ultimate death.”
This story was originally published April 13, 2020 at 11:02 PM with the headline "Daughter files lawsuit after mother dies in nation’s first coronavirus hot spot."