A Paris lawyer is preparing a group lawsuit against nursing home company Korian following complaints of mistreatment in its facilities. The news comes a week after similar complaints levelled at the Orpea group prompted outrage and an official investigation.
Lawyer Sarah Saldmann told FranceInfo radio on Sunday that she had received "dozens of complaints" by relatives of people living in elderly care facilities run by Korian. She intends to bring a group lawsuit in April, bringing together the claims of numerous individual plaintiffs.
Korian, which manages 298 for-profit nursing homes in France, has strongly denied any allegations of mistreatment. It told Reuters that – although it had not been notified of any collective legal action – it would treat any such legal action with the most serious consideration.
Shares in Korian slumped by 4.2 percent early on Monday, with the stock down by around 40 percent since the start of 2022.
They began falling two weeks ago with the publication of Les Fossoyeurs (The Gravediggers). The book accused Korian's rival Orpea of malpractice and negligence – including the rationing of food and adult nappies.
The revelations triggered a public outcry, government probes and the sacking of Orpea's CEO.
'Collective reckoning'
Trust in Korian and Orpea has taken an additional blow after a well-known French investigational TV host said she would reveal new information on the sector later this month.
In a statement, Korian said that it was ready to answer any questions raised in the Cash Investigation TV documentary, and that the company did not merit the negative media coverage.
It regretted that the journalist had entered one of its facilities undercover to do the report.
In the interview with FranceInfo, Salmann said that the publication of the book has set off a collective reckoning about the way France's elderly are being treated in facilities run by private companies that have to make a profit for their investors.
A French minister said last week she was "disgusted" to discover the sacked head of Orpea had sold close to 590,000 euros of company stock after being informed of the allegations of abuse.
Referring to Korian, Saldmann said that problems raised to her by family members seeking advice were "noticeably the same as those at Orpea".
J’étais ce soir dans @EnvoyeSpecial avec @EliseLucet #ehpad #orpea https://t.co/ZmTO3R3a4M
— Sarah Saldmann (@SarahSaldmann) February 3, 2022
(with Reuters)
