Allegations of abuse and food rationing: Home operator Korian is threatened with a class action lawsuit
Created: 02/07/2022, 02:18 p.m
By: Patricia Huber
The French nursing home operator Korian is now threatened with a class action lawsuit.
© Zoonar.com/Heiko Küverling/Imago Images
The French old people's and nursing home operator Korian is threatened with a wave of lawsuits after allegations of mistreatment.
A Paris lawyer is now preparing a class action lawsuit.
Paris - The French old people's and nursing home operator Korian, which is also active in Germany, is threatened with a class action lawsuit for alleged mistreatment of residents in its facilities.
Paris lawyer Sarah Saldmann announced legal action over the weekend after receiving "dozens of complaints" from people whose loved ones live in Korian homes.
She intends to file a class action lawsuit in April, combining the claims of numerous individual plaintiffs, Saldmann told radio station
FranceInfo
.
Saldmann also confirmed her planned lawsuit against Korian on her official Twitter account (@SarahSaldmann).
Korian denies allegations
Korian denied allegations of ill-treatment or food rationing at its facilities, reported by Le Parisien newspaper on Sunday.
The company has not yet been informed of any lawsuit and reserves the right to take legal action against any type of defamation.
Korian will seriously review possible lawsuits.
On the Paris Stock Exchange, the Korian shares listed there plummeted on Monday and fell by up to a good eight percent to an eight-and-a-half-year low of EUR 16.12.
With around 250 facilities, Korian sees itself as the market leader among private nursing home operators in Germany.
The company operates more than 1,000 facilities in seven countries across Europe, making it one of the top providers*.
The group generates around half of its sales outside of France, while Germany accounts for a third of total sales.
France: Retirement homes are under surveillance
In France, the nursing home industry is under particular scrutiny after about two weeks ago a book denounced the conditions at rival Orpea. Orpea boss Yves Le Masne had to resign, the publication triggered state investigations. Orpea had repeatedly denied the allegations. Korian hit the headlines in spring 2019 after several residents of a home near Toulouse died of food poisoning.
Saldmann said in the interview that the book's publication has sparked a collective reflection on the way in France older people are treated in private institutions that need to generate profits for their investors.
Regarding Korian, she said the problems brought to her by family members seeking advice "were noticeably the same as Orpea's."
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