SEMINOLE — Families of at least seven residents who died after contracting COVID-19 at the Freedom Square of Seminole retirement community have filed lawsuits against its owners, claiming administrators failed to adequately protect their loved ones.
Over 100 residents and several staff members tested positive for the coronavirus after an outbreak ravaged the sprawling 15-acre complex in 2020. Forty people eventually died, making it one of the deadliest outbreaks in a Florida long-term care facility.
Throughout the pandemic, residents of senior homes have been particularly vulnerable to the virus — accounting for over a third of Florida’s overall COVID-19 deaths.
A Tampa Bay Times investigation in December 2020 found Freedom Square staff begged managers for more protective equipment like N95 masks and gowns and families struggled to get answers as cases hit the facility.
Families of former residents are now seeking damages, often in excess of $30,000 each, according to the lawsuits. Relatives of Donald Jack, 75, and Christopher Pugh, 84, were the first to sue Freedom Square owners in June 2020.
The additional lawsuits, including one most recently filed on July 23 on behalf of 90-year-old resident Alice Ford, come on the heels of a renewed COVID-19 outbreak among staff at the facility. No residents contracted the virus during this outbreak, which came amid Florida’s overall coronavirus surge and was first reported on July 16, and half of infected staff were vaccinated.
Ford died in hospice on May 4, 2020, after testing positive for the virus at Freedom Square. A medical examiner found her death was related to a COVID-19 infection, according to examiner records.
Relatives of Verne Strible, Bonita Ann McCarthy, Doris Branch and Vincent J. Narcisi Jr. are also pursuing litigation.
Freedom Square of Seminole administrators have not responded to requests for comment made by phone and email.
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August 10, 2021 at 01:00AM
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More families of residents who died of COVID-19 sue Freedom Square - Tampa Bay Times
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