Bob Dean’s attorney says the state did not have grounds to revoke the licenses for seven facilities he evacuated for Hurricane Ida.
Furthermore, the attorney for the nursing home owner said forecasters didn’t accurately predict the storm would move over Tangipahoa Parish, where more than 800 residents were taken to a warehouse where worsening conditions led health officials to step in days later and relocate them.
The deaths of five residents taken to the warehouse in Independence have been attributed to the storm. Ten other evacuees have died, but their causes of death have not yet been made public.
Lawyer John McLindon said evidence will show that Dean made the right decision to bring residents from nursing homes in Orleans, Jefferson, Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes to the warehouse. He insists nursing home employees provided the best care possible as the hurricane caused conditions at the warehouse to deteriorate.
The process for Dean to appeal the license revocation could take several months, McLindon said, and between now and then his client could well decide not to reopen the seven facilities.
