Saturday, June 05, 2021

5 June 2021: Analysis - A Lawyer Describes What's at Stake in a COVID Nursing Home Death Liability Suit

Counsel's Corner: Lawsuit filed downstate for wrongful COVID-19 death in nursing home

WENY news interviewed attorney Christina Sonsire on the lawsuit Vivian Rivera-Zayas filed on 3 June 2021 against the nursing home where her mother died. The case will test the legal waters for determining how successful other families of COVID victims may be in holding them accountable for the deaths of their family members during the period in which Governor Cuomo gifted the facility operators with legal immunity.

Here's a video clip of the discussion:

Here's a summary of what the video clip covers:

In this week's edition of Counsel's Corner, Attorney Christina Sonsire, who is also a Partner at the Ziff Law Firm, breaks down the complexities of this case.

She also explains why this could open up the door for other families to sue facilities over COVID-19 related deaths.

Sonsire explains, early-on in the pandemic (around April 2020) Governor Cuomo successfully inserted a provision into the 2020 budget which essentially protected nursing homes, hospitals and other medical providers from suit of medical malpractice or negligence during the pandemic.

Towards the end of the summer, the New York Legislature decided this measure was completely unfair to plaintiffs. The government body then passed its own provision to reinstate the basic medical malpractice standards.

When it comes to the pending lawsuit, there are still questions surrounding the timeline of those provisions.

Since her mother's death from COVID in early 2020, Rivera-Zayas has become a leading advocate supporting the families of COVID nursing home victims. Here's related coverage from the timeline, which provides more background into Rivera-Zayas' story:

Follow the links at the bottom of the 3 June 2021 entry for more information about the history of Governor Cuomo's gift of legal immunity for New York hospitals and nursing home operators.

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