Bagneris Law Firm filed a lawsuit against the owners and operators of seven nursing homes that made a negligent administrative decision to evacuate residents to a warehouse during Hurricane Ida. With at least five (5) days warning prior, on August 29, 2021, in mid-afternoon, Hurricane IDA with Category 4 winds impacted south Louisiana, including Orleans and Jefferson Parish. Bob Dean along with administrators working at his direction representing seven (7) nursing homes, made the administrative decision to remove the some 900 residents of the six nursing homes listed as defendants above, to a remote area in Tangipahoa Parish near the town of Independence. The physical address of the evacuation site was 129 Calhoun Street, Independence, Louisiana 70443. The nursing homes included in the evacuation were: 1) South Lafourche Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (South Lafourche); 2) Maison De’Ville Nursing Home of Houma; 3) River Palms Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 4) Maison Orleans Healthcare of New Orleans, 5) Maison De’Ville Nursing Home of Harvey; 6) West Jefferson Healthcare Center of Harvey; and 7) Park Place Healthcare, LLC of Gretna (Park Place). All of the nursing homes involved in the evacuation are owned by New Orleans businessman Bob Dean who also owned the warehouses that were turned into a shelter. The warehouse was expected to hold around 300 people, according to authorities in Tangipahoa Parish. However, the total of people housed in the warehouse was near 900.
UPDATE: JANUARY 2024 Retired Judge Rusty Knight re-opened the claims process for a brief period of time. The claims process will end in January 2024. Judge Knight worked hard to get the Louisiana Department of Health to waive Medicaid eligibility requirements so that no claimant would lose benefits by participating in the settlement fund. We anticipate that the settlement funds will be disbursed very soon.
