A member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band is holding an upscale New Jersey nursing home accountable after his mother-in-law tested positive for coronavirus. Nils Lofgren, who has been a member of Springsteen's band for 36 years, and his wife Amy had moved her mother, Patricia J. Landers, to the Brookdale Florham Park in Florham Park, New Jersey.
Lofgren Vs Brookdale Florham Park
In the lawsuit filed last week, Lofgren claims the nursing home, one of the largest operators of long-term senior living facilities in the nation, had not only promised the family around-the-clock security but also trained staff to take care of residents with dementia, which the 83-year-old was suffering from.
However, on April 8, Lofgren claims Landers was "left unattended" and managed to "escape" the facility in the middle of the night for hours and was eventually located by law enforcement three miles away in a "bruised and confused" state. It was the fourth time she had escaped from the nursing home since her arrival in January, according to the New York Times.
After she returned to the facility, the family was allegedly told that she tested negative for COVID-19 but a week later, Landers was hospitalized in Montclair, where she received a positive diagnosis for the deadly virus as well as pneumonia. Landers is now recovering and has been moved to a different facility.
'Every Child's Worst Nightmare'
Brookdale Florham Park has so far reported only 10 cases of coronavirus at the facility, according to the New Jersey Department of Health and no deaths have been reported from the virus. However, the musician told the New York Times that "Shining a light on this problem is important."
Lofgren described the ordeal as "a very demoralizing, tragic story for my mother-in-law that's still being written," and the lawsuit refers to it as "every child's worst nightmare" amid a pandemic that is overrunning nursing care homes across the country. More than 29,100 residents and staff members at nursing homes across the country have died due to coronavirus.
Nolfgren is accusing the facility of negligence, fraud, deceptive trade practices and a violation of a New Jersey state law that protects the rights of nursing home residents.
"It's a nightmare because 99 percent of most people can't even afford a lawyer," Lofgren told the Times. "And they just take it, and their families are decimated by it."
"It's unconscionable and immoral and disgusting," he added. "I hope we can hold them accountable."
