WANAQUE, N.J. (WCBS 880) — A $6 million settlement has been reached following a viral outbreak at a pediatric center in New Jersey that killed nearly a dozen children, three years ago.
In 2018, 36 residents and one staffer at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Passaic County were infected with a severe strain of adenovirus.
A total of 11 immunocompromised children, ranging in age from toddlers to teens, ultimately died from the virus.
"The virus was allowed to spread like wildfire throughout the pediatric unit," said Paul da Costa, an attorney representing 13 of the affected families.
A report from federal investigators released in 2019 revealed that the facility had no procedures in place to combat an outbreak, if one were to develop at the facility.
It also found that the center's medical director "was not on site often, was not apprised of the day-to-day conduct that was going on."
Now, the families of those affected have reached a $6.2 million settlement with the center's former operator.
"No amount of money can ever brings the kids back or equate to what would be what the parents want," da Costa said.
The attorney noted that the outbreak was a lesson for nursing homes and other facilities ahead of the coronavirus pandemic.
In the months after the outbreak, New Jersey lawmakers passed a bill requiring long-term care centers to submit plans to deal with infectious diseases.
"The parents can only hope that many residents in nursing homes during COVID were saved because the owners and administrators took note of what happened at the Wanaque Center," he said.
