Family of Brighton Rehab employee sues over covid-19 death; federal lawsuit dropped

The family of a longtime employee at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Beaver County is suing the facility over her death from covid-19.

Elizabeth A. Wiles, of Rochester, Beaver County, worked as a Brighton housekeeper for nearly 30 years. She died May 10 at age 69 after a covid-19 infection, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.

Brighton is the site of one of the worst covid-19 outbreaks at a nursing home in the state.

The lawsuit alleges that the Brighton owners and contractors that provided housekeeping and laundry services “recklessly and wantonly” allowed conditions to exist — including a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), low staffing levels and insufficient infection control measures — that created “a perfect environment for an infectious disease to run rampant.”

Brighton owners and the contractors are named as defendants. The lawsuit accuses them of wrongful death and negligence as well as fraudulent and intentional misrepresentation related to the risks of working at the facility during the pandemic.

“While we cannot comment on pending litigation, we mourn those who have passed away from this virus,” a statement provided by a Brighton management spokesperson said.

State records last updated June 30 show that 73 Brighton residents have died during the pandemic. State data does not show how many staff members at the facility have died.

A hotline message set up by Brighton to report daily covid-19 data said, as of June 30, 332 residents and 110 staff members have tested positive for covid-19. Of those totals, cases involving 254 residents and 107 staff members have been “resolved,” the recording said.

“She was so committed to the residents, particularly those who had no family of their own, and her co-workers at Brighton,” Vanessa Sherod, Wiles’ daughter, said in a statement. “She loved everyone, which is why it is so shocking that her employer and her supervisors wouldn’t do the right thing.

“She took her job so seriously. But they didn’t care enough about Mom to even give her a face mask. And they didn’t care enough about her — knowing she was a cancer survivor with high blood pressure — to tell her to stay safe, to stay home until the virus had passed. What happened to our mom should never have happened, and it can never happen again.”

The family is seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, interest and costs of the lawsuit.

“We look forward to presenting to a jury the facts that will reveal the deplorable conditions at this repeat offender facility, conditions so dangerous in this nursing home turned hellhole, that the National Guard had to be called in to try to help save lives,” attorney Robert J. Mongeluzzi, whose firm is representing the Wiles estate, said in a statement.

National Guard troops were deployed to support staff at the facility in early May. The state Department of Health appointed a temporary manager May 11 to oversee the site.

The lawsuit was filed in Allegheny County because Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services defendants — the company that operates Brighton — also own and manage, “on a regular, systemic, substantial” basis, the Cheswick Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Indiana Township in Allegheny County, the lawsuit said.

Lawsuit against DOH dropped

A separate federal lawsuit filed in April related to conditions at Brighton, but brought against the Department of Health, has been dropped, a plaintiff and her lawyers confirmed Wednesday.

The lawsuit alleged the health department failed to impose sufficient policies, oversight and direction related to the prevention, mitigation and action against the spread of covid-19 in long-term care facilities such as Brighton, resulting in high numbers of infections and deaths, according to court documents.

The lawsuit also alleged Brighton staff administered an experimental drug combination of hydroxychloroquine and zinc to prevent covid-19 infections without proper approval from the health department and without informed consent from residents or their loved ones.

The lawsuit sought to compel the health department to expand and improve efforts related to testing, contact tracing, resident monitoring, staff training and supplies of personal protective gear.

“I think we had total victory,” said main plaintiff Jodi Gill, adding that the lawsuit was about holding the health department accountable.

Gill, of Ambridge, and co-plaintiff Greg Hubert, whose 96-year-old grandmother is a resident of York Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Philadelphia, were not seeking monetary compensation.

Gill said she believes the lawsuit prompted state and federal lawmakers to get involved and may have spurred the health department to take action on testing and inspections.

“A lot can be accomplished by a lawsuit, even if it is voluntarily dismissed,” said Robert F. Daley, of the Pittsburgh-based firm Robert Peirce and Associates. Daley was among a team of lawyers representing Gill.

He noted that the health department officials “substantially have done what we’ve asked.”

The health department on June 8 issued an order requiring nursing facilities to test all staff and residents by July 24.

“The department is committed to protecting the health and well-being of Pennsylvanians, and ensuring a healthy Pennsylvania for all, and is pleased that the case has been voluntarily dismissed,” health department spokesman Nate Wardle said.

Reports from the most recent health department surveys available were conducted in early May and show that state health inspectors cited Brighton for more than four dozen violations related to infection control, insufficient staff training and ineffective management.