Hundreds of Bob Dean's former nursing-home patients seek settlement money
Nearly 400 former patients of
They are among 843 patients sent by Dean to a warehouse in
Some of Dean's patients relieved themselves in buckets or cried for help from deflated air mattresses. Several would die, including five deaths that state officials deemed "storm-related," and more than 50 were hospitalized.
A deadline that was extended by a month ended Thursday for Dean's patients or their survivors to lay claim to a pot of money that includes insurance proceeds, but none of the former nursing home magnate's shriveled assets.
Attorneys for Dean, who lived a lavish lifestyle that included a taste for classic cars, claim there aren't any left, and little evidence of available assets was revealed at a hearing last fall before
State health officials shut down the warehouse and removed all of Dean's patients days after the storm as Dean balked. The state then revoked his nursing home licenses. Dean has since been diagnosed with dementia. His wife now controls his affairs under court order.
Dean still faces state criminal charges in
The feds say Dean siphoned about
"I'm going to have to go through every one of those and manually break them out to these silos. My hope would be 45 days, maybe 60 days and I will be in a position to make a recommendation to the court," Knight said.
Those who accept will tap a fund that totals about
Even former patients who didn't file claims are eligible for a base amount under the settlement.
Knight said some may have declined to file a claim out of fear the payments would compromise their Medicaid eligibility. The whereabouts of others isn't certain, he said.
"It may well be that money goes to a state or a charity if we never find those people," Knight said.
A chunk of the settlement pot -- at least
He and others administering the class action also will take a cut – Knight said his own budget is
One plaintiff's lawyer who opposed the settlement last year, Madro Bandaries, said he feared the process "could penalize people that had severe damages as compared to others."
Bandaries also said he knows of several of Dean's patients who weren't aware of the claims deadline even with the extension, at least until recently.
"I'm not sure the word got out to everybody," he said.
His client,
A
Peanut butter and jelly, crackers and hot dogs were the provided fare, she said.
Renard, 63, has deteriorated since, according to a recent letter from her doctor.
More than 100 of Dean's former patients have died since the Ida evacuation, say attorneys involved in the case.
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