SEMINOLE, Fla. — The Freedom Square retirement community at the center of a COVID-19 outbreak is being sued by the families of two men who died after contracting the virus.
The lawsuits claim Seminole Pavilion Rehabilitation and Nursing Services "chose to place profits over residents and ignore deficiencies in their emergency preparedness plan and in their infection prevention and control program."
Christopher Pugh, 84, and Donald Jack, 75, the lawsuits read, were among 95 residents transferred from the facility to local hospitals for treatment after it was learned an outbreak was ongoing. Both died not long thereafter.
Breach of fiduciary duty is among four counts of wrongdoing the lawsuits claim against the facility, in addition to several allegations. The families claim staff members did not have or weren't required to wear personal protective equipment and allowed asymptomatic staff who had been exposed to the virus to continue working.
The retirement community in Seminole is a complex of assisted living and independent living housing. According to the Florida Department of Health, 25 deaths are linked to Seminole Pavilion Rehabilitation and Nursing Services. Six more are associated with Freedom Square Rehabilitation and Nursing Services.
A nurse who worked at Seminole Pavilion died as a result of COVID-19, one staff-related death reported there.
10 Tampa Bay reached out to Freedom Square of Seminole for comment but has not yet heard back.
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