English
An Ontario Superior Court has certified a class action lawsuit against a Toronto long-term care home, alleging that gross negligence during the COVID-19 pandemic led to hundreds of resident deaths. The certification targets Downsview Long-Term Care Centre Limited and its parent company, Gem Healthcare Group Limited.
Certification Granted With Defendants’ Consent
Justice Edward Morgan granted the certification last week. Notably, both Downsview and Gem consented to the process. However, the two companies have also stated they intend to defend themselves against the allegations, which have not yet been tested at trial.
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The lawsuit claims that multiple COVID-19 outbreaks occurred at the facility between late January 2020 and early May 2023. According to the statement of claim, those outbreaks caused at least 1,966 residents to contract COVID-19 and at least 244 to die from it. The class includes residents, care recipients, visitors and their family members, as well as the estates of those who died.
A Family’s Experience at the Centre of the Case
Billy Powell serves as a representative plaintiff in the case. His mother, Zellora Graham, moved to Downsview in September 2017 after suffering a hip fracture. She had arthritis and used a walker, but otherwise had no chronic conditions.
Powell last visited Graham in early March 2020, shortly before Ontario restricted visits to long-term care homes. After that, he received little to no information about her condition. He only learned of a possible outbreak at Downsview in late April 2020, after his wife read a news article about it. When he called the home, a nurse told him Graham was doing well and the virus had not reached her section.
On May 1, 2020, Powell returned a missed call from the facility and learned his mother was suspected to have COVID-19. He and his siblings agreed she should transfer to a hospital. Once there, Graham tested positive. A doctor told Powell that evening she was severely dehydrated, struggling to breathe, and had only a 20 per cent chance of survival. Graham died two days later.
Allegations of Systemic Failures
The lawsuit alleges that long-standing problems made the facility vulnerable to outbreaks. These include overcrowding, inadequate infection prevention practices, understaffing and systemic failures to meet regulatory and legal standards.
Furthermore, the claim alleges that Downsview and Gem failed to act quickly or proactively when the pandemic began. It also alleges the measures they did implement did not reflect current knowledge about COVID-19 risks for elderly people. The lawsuit argues the outbreaks were preventable had the defendants met their common law obligations.
In his ruling, Justice Morgan found sufficient factual basis to support the allegations for certification purposes. He wrote that given the number of class members and the complexity of the case, “a class proceeding is the preferable procedure for ensuring their just and expeditious determination, promoting judicial economy, and seeking behaviour modification.”
