The operators of a nursing home that had an outbreak of adenovirus in 2018 have been hit with 10 new lawsuits over the incident, including five wrongful death claims.

The Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Haskell, its owners and operators now face 13 lawsuits in connection with the outbreak that killed 11 children in a unit housing minor patients with chronic illnesses.

The Wanaque Center had a 92-bed pediatric unit where most of the patients were on ventilators, said Paul da Costa of Snyder Sarno D'Aniello Maceri & da Costa in Roseland, who filed the latest group of suits on April 16 and 17 in Passaic County Superior Court. Thirty-six of the pediatric patients became infected with the adenovirus, da Costa said.

The new crop of suits claim deviations from accepted medical practices put residents at risk. The suits claim that in the months leading up to the outbreak, state inspectors found staff at the Wanaque Center failed to maintain a safe and clean environment, failed to have a proper infection prevention and control program, and failed to follow hand-washing techniques proscribed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In addition, the suits said state inspectors also found that Wanaque Center staff used medication syringes in an unsanitary manner and failed to use germicide wipes to disinfect surfaces. The suits also claim that investigators visiting the Wanaque Center reported a pervasive smell of mildew along with carpet that was more than 15 years old and embedded with stains and discoloration.

The suits name as defendants Continuum Healthcare, the company that owned the facility at the time of the outbreak, as well as company principals Eugene Ehrenfeld and Daniel Bruckstein, and numerous staff members at Wanaque Center.

Among da Costa's  suits is one filed on behalf of Dorcase Dolcin, who died at age 4. Dorcase had a compromised immune system that made her especially vulnerable to the adenovirus, according to the suit, filed by her parents, Modeline Auguste and Ocroimy Dolcin. She developed a high fever and difficulty breathing on Sept. 29, 2018, that persisted for the following days. On Oct. 5, 2018, Dorcase was transferred to St. Joseph's Medical Center in Paterson in critical condition. She died on Oct. 8, 2018.

Paul da Costa, of Snyder Sarlo D'Aniello Maceri & da Costa. Courtesy photo

Another of da Costa's suits is brought on behalf of Elizabeth Poulos, who died at age 16. Elizabeth, who needed tubes for breathing and feeding, developed a high fever and breathing problems on Sept. 30, 2018. She was transferred to St. Joseph's on Oct. 2, but 10 days later she was sent back to Wanaque, where she died on Oct. 23, 2018. Her suit was filed by her mother, Kristine Deleg.

The suits claim the defendants committed fraud because they billed Medicaid and private insurance companies for care while failing to meet accepted standards of care. The suits also claim the defendants violated the federal Nursing Home Reform Act and New Jersey's Nursing Home Responsibility and Rights of Residents Act.

The latest suits filed on behalf of Dorcase and others follow a handful that were filed earlier. In one such case, da Costa brought suit in November 2018 on behalf of William DelGrosso, then 14, who was hospitalized for weeks after contracting adenovirus and reporting a high fever and respiratory complications. That case is still in discovery.

The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services fined the Wanaque Center $600,000 based on federal and state inspections that found conditions at the facility endangered residents and staff.

The deadly outbreak at the Wanaque Center prompted lawmakers to enact a law last August requiring certain long-term care facilities to develop an outbreak response plan. Facilities such as the Wanaque Center that care for particularly vulnerable residents are required under the law to submit a more detailed response plan to the Department of Health for review and approval.

Eric Heicklen of Buchanan Ingersoll in Princeton, who represents the Wanaque Center and its employees in connection with the suits, declined to comment.