Only about 400 residents who experienced a harrowing 2021 Hurricane Ida evacuation or their survivors have filed claims to receive part of a $12 million class-action settlement.
In all, nearly 850 patients were evacuated from seven nursing homes then owned by magnate Bob Dean — meaning fewer than half are pursuing claims.
The residents were moved to a former Louisiana warehouse owned by Dean to ride out the deadly storm. Conditions inside the warehouse, however, quickly deteriorated, and most residents had to be rescued by state health officials after several died.
NOLA.com this week reported on ongoing efforts to divvy out the insurance payments, the total value of which could still increase to $14 million depending on a legal proceeding against one of the insurers involved.
There are concerns, however, that some of the victims or their family members did not know about a June 15 claim deadline. Attorneys also have said about 100 of Dean’s former residents have died since Ida.
Retired Louisiana District Judge Rusty Knight is overseeing the settlement disbursements and told Nola.com late last week that he would spend the summer reviewing claims to determine payouts based on the severity of harm.
Judicial District Judge Michael Mentz approved the settlement and also must sign off on final amounts to be paid.
Knight said that former patients who didn’t file claims are still eligible for a base payment. He also raised concerns that some might not pursue a claim out of concern it could affect Medicaid eligibility.
Mentz’s approved plan also directs 22.5% of the settlement to lawyers after former patients get paid.
After Ida, Bob Dean was stripped of his nursing home licenses by the state and faces state charges in Louisana’s Tangipahoa Parish for cruelty to the infirm and Medicaid fraud. He has claimed to have dementia and reports few personal assets for victims to go after in court.
Early this year, the US Justice Department also brought a lawsuit against Dean charging him with “misappropriating and misusing the assets and income” of four nursing homes that had loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration. Justice officials say Dean required the nursing homes to pay a total of $1 million in rent on an industrial warehouse he had acquired to serve as a hurricane evacuation center. But instead of using the funds to prepare the warehouse site, they allege he funneled the rent to his personal be
