New Jersey is set to pay approximately $53 million in settling claims its negligence contributed to the deaths of over 100 veterans in state-run homes amid the coronavirus pandemic, attorneys announced Thursday.
NBC Philadelphia reported:
The settlement reached this week involved the families of 119 residents of veterans homes in Paramus and Menlo Park, according to attorney Paul da Costa. Da Costa’s firm represented 72 of the claimants, who will receive about $32 million in total. The families had filed notices of intent to sue but hadn’t yet formally filed lawsuits, da Costa said.
“This settlement of course does not replace their lost loved ones who served their countries honorably, but it certainly represents a good measure of civil justice,” da Costa said. “My clients do take satisfaction in the fact that there has been a resolution that they believe gives a voice to their lost loved ones.”
Over 200 residents in the homes died amid the pandemic, and Gov. Phil Murphy’s (D) administration was heavily criticized in April last year after instructing the homes not to turn away patients who tested positive for the illness.
The order was eventually rescinded, according the the NBC article.