Illinois Supreme Court rules pandemic response immunity for nursing homes can extend to non-COVID related claims
by Timothy A.M. Woerner
If you’ve ever consulted with a competent attorney before, you’ve probably heard some variant of “It depends” in response to any fact-specific question: Small differences in a fact pattern can have a large impact on the likelihood of success of a case, for reasons ranging from who might potentially have liability, to the limits of what they might be liable for, or even to when and where a case can be pursued. That’s why from intake to pre-suit negotiation to discovery to trial, at Rosenberg, Eisenberg & Shactman, LLC., our attorneys are constantly in pursuit of every available source of information about your potential claims, so that we can anticipate possible defenses and advise you accordingly. That includes not just trying to find every witness with something to say about what happened, or every document, photo, or video with relevant evidence – it also includes keeping abreast of the latest court rulings that could impact your pursuit of justice.
A recent Illinois Supreme Court ruling on pandemic-era immunity for nursing homes is a good example. On October 18, 2024, in Donald James v. Geneva Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, LLC., 2024 IL 130042, the Illinois Supreme Court determined that while the source of a grant of immunity in an April 2020 Executive Order by Governor Pritzker was the authority in the Illinois Emergency Management Act to facilitate responses to emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic – the scope of that immunity was not necessarily limited to virus-related claims.
The James case arose out of a series of deaths during the early pandemic at a Geneva, Illinois area nursing home. The plaintiffs were representatives of the estates of individuals claiming that the nursing home did not properly employ PPE (such as masks and gowns) and quarantine symptomatic individuals leading to the virus’s preventable spread. But it could have a significant preclusive effect on contemporaneous but unrelated claims at the same facilities from that time period that may have otherwise remained and even be persuasive caselaw in future emergency occurrences.
The ruling centered on the specific language of Gov. Pritzker’s Order. After first observing that the Governor declared the state a disaster area on March 9, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 outbreak (with subsequent disaster proclamations which did not ultimately expire until May 11, 2023), the Court noted that the Governor’s response directed health care facilities including nursing homes to provide certain types of aid aimed at ensuring bed capacity and availability of access to medical supplies and treatment statewide – not just for COVID-19 patients, but for patients in need of all types of care amidst the ongoing crisis. Specifically, the Order provided that, excepting gross negligence and willful misconduct, defined facilities “shall be immunity from civil liability for any injury or death alleged to have been caused by any act or omission … which … occurred at a time when … engaged in the course of rendering assistance to the State by providing health care services in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.” (emphasis added).
In short, where the Order immunized ordinary negligence if it “occurred at a time” the facility was “rendering assistance” to State, given the novelty and uncertainty of the circumstances, the Emergency Management Act allowed the Governor to protect a facility pitching in resources to help in a State emergency more broadly than the immediate contours of its assistance.
While this particular ruling is limited to the time period during which the aforesaid COVID-19 Executive Order was in effect, it could guide facilities in other emergency situations in the future, or motivate the Governor’s Office to more closely define the scope of such Orders going forward. But potential plaintiffs need to be aware of the immunities that might apply to a potential claim, with an eye toward how to best position their allegations in a Complaint, as well as the strength of their bargaining position weighed against the costs of continuing litigation in any settlement discussions.
If you or your loved one has a potential nursing home abuse or neglect claim, confirming all of the details of what happened and when can be of vital importance to successfully pursuing justice. Contact our office today so we can answer any questions you may have about your potential case, and you can find out how Rosenberg, Eisenberg & Shactman, LLC. can help you and your loved ones get the justice you deserve!
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