By KEVIN BESSLER for the Illinois Radio Network
LASALLE, Ill. (IRN) — Dozens of lawsuits have been filed after a deadly COVID-19 outbreak at the state-run LaSalle Veterans Home.
The family members of 27 veterans who contracted COVID-19 are part of lawsuits filed against the state of Illinois, the Department of Veterans Affairs, LaSalle Veterans Home and several staff members at the facility. Twenty-six of the 27 veterans listed in the lawsuit died.
Several family members spoke to the media in Chicago on Tuesday. Lindsey Lamb, of Lockport, spoke about her grandfather, 89-year-old Richard Cieski, a Korean War vet who died when the virus swept through the facility in November 2020.
“He was a loving, gentle, caring family man who didn’t deserve to die the way that he did,” Lamb said.
A total of 36 veterans died, representing about a quarter of the nursing home’s total population at the time.
A state inspector general’s report last year found those deaths could have been prevented. It detailed mismanagement from the top of the Illinois Veterans’ Affairs Department to staff at the LaSalle Nursing Home. The report called the response to the outbreak “inefficient, reactive and chaotic.”
“They had no plan; they had no training,” said attorney Steve Levy, who represents the plaintiffs. “In many cases, they weren’t wearing masks. They had no hand sanitizer. They didn’t even have morphine ordered by a doctor to mitigate the painful death many of our clients suffered.”
The attorneys reportedly tried to settle the cases with the state, but an appropriate level of compensation could not be agreed upon.
The outbreak and pending lawsuits could have political repercussions. Governor J.B. Pritzker made caring for veterans a key issue during his campaign in 2018.
Republican State Sen. Sue Rezin of Morris has proposed legislation to avoid a similar event in the future, including requiring an immediate on-site review by state health officials when an outbreak occurs at a veterans home. The Illinois Department of Public Health didn’t show up at the LaSalle home until 10 days after the outbreak.
The lawsuits filed in LaSalle County allege negligence and wrongful death and could cost state taxpayers millions of dollars.