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A healthcare worker prepares to transport a patient into an ambulance at Life Care Center of Kirkland (Wash.) last February.
Long-term care providers and their lawyers are preparing to defend the industry against claims of neglect and wrongful death of residents as lawsuits related to the COVID-19 pandemic start being filed nationwide.
While plaintiff lawyers say residents are being neglected, defense lawyers say long-term care providers have been working hard to follow changing regulations on testing, personal protective equipment and infection control during a global pandemic that targets the elderly and puts intense pressures on healthcare providers.
On both sides, lawyers are preparing to argue cases where the rules are still being determined.