Sauder Schelkopf is investigating a potential class action suit on behalf families of individuals who died from COVID-19 while resided in nursing homes that may have been noncompliant with infection-control practices.

On April 28, 2022, Patch Ocean City New Jersey reported that New Jersey certain long-term care facilities have been fined more than $12 million in the pandemic. More than 8,000 New Jersey residents and staff of long-term and assisted-living facilities have died from the novel coronavirus. Nearly 30 percent of all of New Jersey’s confirmed COVID deaths have been linked to the facilities.

“The health department conducted 5,211 inspections of long-term care facilities from March 2020-22, with more than 1,600 triggered by complaints.”

On May 11, 2020, Patch Hopatcong-Sparta New Jersey reported that a nursing home with a “makeshift morgue” was fined more than $220,000. A federal investigation found the facility had put patients in jeopardy and provided substandard care over a period of 15 days. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services “defines a situation in which a long-term care facility is non-compliant when the facility has placed the health and safety of recipients in its care at risk for serious injury, serious harm, serious impairment or death.”

Related News:

Over 200,000 Residents and Staff in Long-Term Care Facilities Have Died From COVID-19

Lawsuits show vulnerability of residents at N.J. nursing home when COVID struck

New COVID outbreak at infamous NJ nursing home that filled makeshift morgue

Why do NJ’s worst nursing homes continue to receive state Medicaid funding?

Experience Matters

Sauder Schelkopf has a nationally recognized litigation practice. The firm currently serves as court-appointed lead counsel in courts across the country.  The attorneys at Sauder Schelkopf have recovered over $500 million on behalf of their clients and class members. Our firm was recognized by the Legal Intelligencer’s 2022 Professional Excellence Awards. The Legal Intelligencer’s Professional Excellence Awards honor Pennsylvania law firms and attorneys who have made a significant, positive impact on the legal profession. Our firm was named in the Litigation Departments of the Year (Specialty Area category; runner-up), an award that honors the best litigation practice in a small or mid-sized firm in Pennsylvania. This recognition was based on the firm’s 2021 litigation work and its important ongoing cases. Our attorneys have been recognized by LawDragon in its list of the “500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers” for 2022.  This list notes: “From the opioid epidemic to toxic substances and defective products, truck accidents to wildfires and sexual abuse, these are the lawyers who stand on the front line in individual lawsuits and class actions seeking justice.” Mr. Schelkopf was named to Pennsylvania’s Best Lawyers® 2022 for Class Actions/Mass Tort Litigation. The American Lawyer named Mr. Sauder to its 2021 Northeast Trailblazers. The honor recognizes 60 lawyers who are “truly agents of change.” It “recognizes professionals in the Northeast who have moved the needle in the legal industry.” The Legal Intelligencer named Mr. Sauder and Mr. Schelkopf in its 2020 Pennsylvania Trailblazers list recognizing 31 lawyers who “have taken extra measures to contribute to positive outcomes . . . and who are truly agents of change.” The Legal highlighted the firm’s innovative work on advocacy as class counsel in large institutional sex abuse cover-ups, women’s, and children’s rights. Our attorneys have also consistently been recognized by their peers being named to Pennsylvania SuperLawyer, a distinction held by the top 5% of attorneys in Pennsylvania.  Our attorneys have also been selected by the National Trial Lawyers Association as the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Pennsylvania.

We Want to Hear from You

Contact us if your loved one died from COVID-19 while residing in nursing homes that may have been noncompliant with infection-control practices.