2025/03/13 by Poland Lai · 1 voice
Health Professions · Social Sciences · #Health and Conflict Studies #Socio-political and Technological Issues #Medical Malpractice and Liability Issues
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/09687599.2025.2478058
openalex publication_date 2025/03/13 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The harms in institutions such as psychiatric facilities and long-term care (LTC) homes (aged care or nursing homes) uncovered during the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated momentum for deinstitutionalisation. In 2022, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities adopted the Guidelines on Deinstitutionalisation, Including in Emergencies. Section 9 of the Guidelines covers remedies, reparations, and redress. This paper examines a development that hinders redress for older disabled people who lived in LTC homes. Some jurisdictions passed legislation which provides a level of protection from civil liability in relation to actions of governments and other parties during the pandemic. Drawing from legal developments in Ontario (Canada), this paper argues that providing broad civil liability protection to LTC homes and governments normalizes and trivializes wrongs committed by institutions and governments during the pandemic. This paper calls for greater legal accountability over experiences of harm in LTC as integral to deinstitutionalization.