ALBANY (WCBS 880) — A New York City Assembly member is hoping to create a compensation fund for families who lost loved ones in nursing homes during the coronavirus pandemic.
Assemblyman Ron Kim says he wants to move forward with the plan to create the fund now that he appears to have the backing of Attorney General Letitia James, who recently filed a lawsuit claiming New York State has been under reporting COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes.
“There were mistakes made and we want to make it right,” Kim told WCBS 880.
He says the compensation fund would not bring loved ones back, but it could be some form of justice for suffering families.
“Because of legal immunity, it was really difficult for them to find any kind of recourse for their loved ones and their attorneys and their families came to the conclusion, maybe the best path forward is to put together some sort of a victim's compensation fund,” he explains.
During the pandemic, nursing homes were granted immunity from civil liability for COVID-19 related deaths and injuries.
While there have been efforts to repeal the protections for the facilities, Kim says they are, for now, working on creating the fund – which he says has the support of many in Albany.
Currently, the plan is to place a tax or fee on nursing homes to finance the fund, with the other half going towards nursing home staffing.
Kim says it’s the best thing the state could do at this point in time.
“No money, I think, can compensate for that kind of trauma and this is merely a token saying that we, as a state, recognize that there's pain and we want to make sure that there is some sort of justice for them moving forward,” the assemblyman said.
He has not spoken with Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office about the proposal yet.
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