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Law360 (August 6, 2020, 10:26 PM EDT) -- Covington & Burling is representing patients at a Southern California psychiatric hospital who seek immediate discharge or transfer due to a coronavirus outbreak that has infected more than 100 patients and caused two deaths, according to a proposed class action filed in California federal court.
The Washington, D.C.-based firm filed the suit Wednesday on behalf of Richard Hart and four other named plaintiffs who allege that administrators for Patton State Hospital — one of the largest psychiatrist hospitals in the country — and the California Department of State Hospitals have put approximately 1,500 patients at risk for coronavirus-related injury and death.
The facility, which houses patients either convicted or accused of committing crimes linked to their mental illness, has not implemented social distancing measures and keeps 50 patients at a time in locked units where they are in close contact with one another, increasing the risk the virus will spread, according to the complaint.
"Defendants are putting the lives of DSH-Patton patients in danger by holding them in crowded, congregate living spaces in the midst of a COVID-19 outbreak," the suit said.
At least 112 patients and 147 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 and two patients have died of coronavirus complications, according to the suit, which seeks to establish a class of hundreds of high-risk patients with underlying health problems.
"Defendants' failure to take steps to limit the spread of COVID-19 at DSH-Patton poses a serious threat to plaintiffs' lives and well-being," the complaint said. "Plaintiffs all have conditions and factors that, according to the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], make them highly vulnerable to severe illness or death if they contract COVID-19."
The patients claim that their continued confinement violates their due process rights under the 14th Amendment as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act. They seek an injunction requiring the hospital to identify all high-risk patients and transfer or discharge them to safer settings. The patients also ask that the court appoint a monitor or special master to ensure compliance.
A spokesman for the California Department of State Hospitals told Law360 on Thursday that they don't comment on pending legislation, but said the department "remains committed to preventing the spread of COVID-19 and working with local public health officials to protect our patients and employees."
An attorney for the patients, Samantha Choe of Covington & Burling LLP, said in a statement that "the patients at DSH-Patton have no effective means to protect themselves from contracting COVID-19."
She added, "It is critical for DSH to act immediately."
The patients are represented by Samantha Choe, Addison Thompson, Sylvia Huang and Annie Shi of Covington & Burling LLP and Jennifer Stark, Aaron Fischer, Anne Hadreas, Sarah Gregory and Kim Pederson of Disability Rights California.
Counsel information for the defendants was not immediately available.
The case is Hart et al. v. Clendenin et al., case number 5:20-cv-01559, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
--Editing by Orlando Lorenzo.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
