New Jersey has agreed to a $16 million settlement on behalf of 71 residents of two state-owned nursing homes for veterans who died of COVID-19. The latest settlement comes on top of a $52.9 million deal with the state in December 2021 on behalf of another 119 residents of the Paramus and Menlo Park veterans homes who died of COVID-19.

Both groups of suits alleged gross negligence by management at the homes in the early days of the pandemic, such as ordering staff not to wear masks or gloves, and allowing residents who had contracted the virus to interact with other residents who were not infected. But the latest group of claimants will receive an average of about $225,000 for each dead resident, compared with an average of more than $400,000 each for the first group.

Paul da Costa, a partner with Snyder Sarno D’Aniello Maceri & da Costa. Courtesy photo