Criminal charges brought in coronavirus outbreak that killed dozens at Massachusetts
Two former leaders of the Massachusetts run VA home are indicted on criminal charges over 76 COVID deaths. This case could be instructive for possible cases against some governors who forced COVID patients into nursing homes.
Two former leaders of a state-run veterans home in Massachusetts where dozens of residents died in a coronavirus outbreak were indicted on criminal charges and face possible jail time, the state’s top law enforcement official said Friday.
The charges against Bennett Walsh, a former superintendent of the home, and David Clinton, a former medical director, stem from their alleged roles in abuse and mistreatment of elderly and disabled residents at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke. At least 76 veterans in the home died of covid-19 as the novel coronavirus swept through the institution, and an additional 84 residents and 80 staff members tested positive.
“We believe this is the first criminal case in the country brought against those involved in nursing homes during the covid-19 pandemic,” Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said. “We are alleging that Walsh and Clinton were ultimately responsible for a decision on March 27th that led to tragic and deadly results.”
In particular, Healey said, the consolidation of two dementia units put patients who had tested positive for the coronavirus “within feet” of others who had not. One unit that typically had 25 residents was packed with 42, including nine whose beds were in a dining room, she said.
“To think about this now, knowing how contagious and deadly this virus is and continues to be, is most disturbing, and the alleged details are even worse,” Healey said.
The indictment comes six months after Healey launched a criminal investigation and includes multiple counts of two neglect charges: a caretaker who wantonly or recklessly commits or permits bodily injury to an elder or disabled person, and “abuse, neglect or mistreatment” of an elderly or disabled person.