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KANSAS CITY, Kan. — An attorney filed a wrongful death lawsuit Thursday against a metro rehab facility with a coronavirus outbreak.

It involves Riverbend Post-Acute Rehab Facility in Kansas City, Kansas. 

The lawsuit says in part, “On or before March 31, 2020, Riverbend knew or should have known the vital importance of ensuring COVID-19 did not enter or spread in its facility. This included monitoring both residents and staff for fever, cough, and other symptoms of COVID and adhering to social distancing guidelines.”

The lawsuit adds that testing on April 1, 2020 confirmed that one staff member and one resident had
COVID-19.

“There is evidence the outbreak started due to a Riverbend employee working in the
facility with a cough and fever and without proper personal protective equipment,” the suit says. 

A total of 27 of the facility’s residents have died from from virus. According to the Unified Government Public Health Department 119 residents and employees tested positive for COVID-19. Eight of those residents are still in the hospital. 

 Federal health experts are inspecting the facility and are also reviewing how it handled the outbreak.

New federal rules announced this week require more transparency. And facilities must inform residents and their families when someone gets sick.