In federal lawsuit, family blames Delaware County-run nursing home for Broomall man’s COVID death

The family of a Broomall man who died after contracting COVID-19 at a nursing home run by Delaware County is suing the county in federal court, saying the facility was inadequately prepared to handle the pandemic.

Christopher Beaty Sr., 63, died last June just four days after his roommate at the Fair Acres Geriatric Center tested positive for COVID-19, according to the lawsuit. The family is seeking at least $75,000 in damages.

Staff at the facility “failed, refused and/or neglected to perform the duties to provide reasonable and adequate health care” to Beaty by allowing him to remain so near to someone who had the virus, the suit contends.

Beaty’s family also said the facility was negligent in its response to the pandemic in general, waiting until May to begin testing its residents, and failing to restrict their movements around the building before his death.

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The attorney who filed the suit on behalf of the family, Stephen J. Pokiniewski, did not return a request for comment Thursday.

Delaware County Solicitor Bill Martin said his office was aware of the lawsuit and preparing to respond to it.

“We take all such allegations seriously and will continue our efforts to provide the best possible care to the residents of Fair Acres,” Martin said in a statement.

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Fair Acres — a 600-bed, 24-hour full-care center in Lima — is the only long-term care facility operated by Delaware County.

As of April 16, 97 residents of Fair Acres have died from COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, according to data from the state Department of Health. A total of 837 deaths among residents and staff at long-term care facilities throughout the county have been attributed to the pandemic, records show.

Beaty had been a resident of Fair Acres for 15 years because of a medical condition that his family didn’t specify in the lawsuit. In March 2020, during the height of the pandemic, visitors were barred from Fair Acres, but his family continued to communicate with him through phone calls.

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They learned that his roommate, whom the suit did not identify, had begun to show COVID-19 symptoms on June 1. Later that day, Beaty called his family to tell them he had developed a low-grade fever.

The next day, Beaty’s roommate tested positive for the virus, while Beaty’s test was negative.

Beaty began to exhibit symptoms common to COVID-19 — including shortness of breath and a low oxygen rate — not long after, the suit said. Staff at Fair Acres transferred Beaty to Riddle Memorial Hospital, where he died June 6 from the virus.