EPPING GARDENS & ST BASIL'S
Important Court Notice regarding Epping Gardens Class Action – Agnello v Heritage Care Pty Ltd (S ECI 2020 03282)Â
Important Court Notice regarding St Basil’s Class Action – Fotiadis v St Basil’s Homes for the Aged in Victoria (S ECI 2020 03339)
Important Update:
Please be advised that the Supreme Court has made orders for Mediation to take place in the Epping Gardens and St Basil’s Class Actions by 2 December 2022 and 9 December 2022, respectively. Any Group Member who wishes to participate in any distribution of any amount agreed in a settlement of these proceedings at Mediation (or within six months after the conclusion of Mediation) is required to register their claim by 4pm (AEST) on 7 November 2022. For further information on how to register, please read the Notices attached above.
Alternatively, any Group Member who wishes to opt out of these proceedings must, prior to 4pm (AEST) on 07 November 2022, deliver a completed Opt Out Notice to the Registry of the Supreme Court of Victoria by email or by post. For copies of the Opt Out Notices, please see the Notices attached above.Â
Aged Care Class Actions
Carbone Lawyers has issued two separate class action proceedings on behalf of clients who have lost beloved family members to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) whilst in the care of aged care operators Epping Gardens and St Basil’s.
On 14 and 20 August 2020, Carbone Lawyers filed two separate actions in the Supreme Court of Victoria on behalf of its clients and lead plaintiffs Sebastian Agnello and Efstathia Fotiadis against the operators of the Epping Gardens and St Basil’s aged care facilities respectively.
Mr Agnello’s mother, Carmella Agnello and Ms Fotiadis’ father, Dimitrios Fotiadis were under the care of Epping Gardens and St Basil’s where they contracted COVID-19 and deceased shortly after, on 28 July and 25 July 2020 respectively.
As a result of the preventable deaths of their respective parents, Mr Agnello and Ms Fotiadis have suffered psychological reactions marked by depression and anxiety, and nervous shock, resulting from the mismanagement and dereliction of duties by the operators of both facilities.
Both clients are seeking damages against the operators of these aged care facilities, which both failed in their duty of care to the deceased and affected persons.
Scope of claims
The proceedings against Heritage Care Pty Ltd (operator of Epping Gardens) and St Basil’s Homes for the Aged in Victoria (operator of St Basil’s) deal with several failures of the respective operators to act in the deceased’s best interests and provide them with a safe and comfortable environment.
The alleged breaches of their duty of care include, but are not limited to:
- Allowing permitted staff and residents to not wear PPE and roam freely throughout the respective facilities despite the risk of COVID-19 infection
- Failing to ensure its staff were properly informed of the dangers of COVID-19 and trained in the practices to protect the deceased from contracting COVID-19
- Cutting back on staff during a pandemic, which made it impossible to safely and adequately care for the vulnerable residents
These various breaches caused the deceased to contract COVID-19 and pass away, causing pain and anguish for our clients.
Are you affected?
If you are a resident or a family member of a resident who suffered from COVID-19 or another consequence of neglect at Epping Gardens or St Basil’s between February and October 2020, and believe you have suffered nervous shock or any related symptoms (e.g. stress, anxiety, anguish etc.) as a result, please fill out the form on this page to make an enquiry with Carbone Lawyers.Â
Alternatively, contact us on 1800 369 888 or at eppinggardensclassaction@carbonelawyers.com.au or stbasilsclassaction@carbonelawyers.com.au and a member of our team will reach out to you.