Families file 27 lawsuits over COVID-19 outbreak that killed 36 at LaSalle Veterans' Home
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A series of lawsuits filed against the State of Illinois claim the LaSalle Veterans' Home was negligent in how it handled a COVID-19 outbreak that killed more than 30 veterans.
The state is now facing a stack of 27 lawsuits, in which the families of veterans argue their deaths were preventable.
The families are suing the State of Illinois, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and its veterans' home in LaSalle.
Jill Funfsinn, a member of one of the families, wants the photos of her grandfather to evoke happy memories.
"He was an awesome guy," Funfsinn said. "He was World War II."
But the photos now have the opposite effect.
"I feel very upset," Funfsinn said. "I feel angry and sad, really sad, because he just didn't deserve this."
His name was Jerry Liesse - one of 36 veterans who died in a COVID-19 outbreak in the fall of 2020 at the LaSalle Veterans Home.
"They weren't doing what they were supposed to do," said Funfsinn said.
Liesse's family is one of 27 represented by Chicago-based law firm Levin & Perconti. The firm's lawsuits accuse the nursing home of negligence, pointing to "improper hand sanitizer, improper use of PPE, improper screening protocols, improper observance of... social distancing protocols."
"It was not his time to go," said John Lundquist, the son of veteran who died.
"Many unnecessary lives were lost, and ours was just one of them," said Rick, son-in-law of man who died.
"A loving, gentle, caring family man who didn't deserve to die the way he did," said Lindsay Lamb, the granddaughter of Richard Cieski Sr., who also died at the facility.
The lawsuits rely heavily on a scathing report from the state's own inspector general, which called the veterans' home's response to the outbreak "inefficient, reactive, and chaotic."
That report describes one instance when "a positive veteran and negative veteran were accidentally placed in the same room waiting additional movement."
Despite that, "a member of the Management Team instructed that the negative Veteran still be moved to a non-infected wing."
"The state must be held accountable for their actions - or, in this case, inaction," said attorney Mike Bonamarte.
Funfsinn says her family took every precaution. She wishes veterans' home employees did the same.
"This would have been his 95th birthday that March," she said. "He had to see his wife through a glass window, and it's been really hard – like, what was it all for?"
Attorneys would not put a dollar amount on what they're seeking, but they did indicate it should be at least $100,000 for each of those 27 clients. Of course, the total could go much higher than that.
The state sent us a statement saying the deaths weigh heavily on the Gov. JB Pritzker's heart, and pointing out that the governor has appointed a new VA director.