WASHINGTON — The pressure is on for lawmakers to reach a deal on a stimulus package, as a number of benefits and coronavirus relief programs are set to expire this month. However, the Republican push to attach a liability shield to COVID relief has been a major sticking point in Congress for months. 

The big debate is over how much liability should companies, universities, and medical facilities face if the employees or customers seek remedy. It is something struggling business owners have concerns about, but others believe there needs to be a check on corporate power. 

It is perhaps no surprise that as a teen, Maurice Dotson enjoyed accompanying his mother at the nursing place she worked. Dotson’s sister called him her protector and described him as a father figure. His mother said he cared for everyone. Dotson was a nurse’s aide in an Austin nursing home for 25 years and at 51 years old, he died in April after contracting the coronavirus. 

“Maurice Dotson was a hero, was a courageous person who exemplifies all of those health care workers, nursing home attendants and workers who care for our loved ones under great risk,” Quentin Brogdon, a Dallas-based attorney who represents Dotson’s family, told Spectrum News.

Attorneys for the family said Regency Integrated Health Services, the operators of the Austin nursing home where Dotson worked, should be held accountable for his death. That is why the family has sued.

“He was dedicated and caring and treated those patients residents, like his own family, and they are just devastated to have lost him,” Kathleen Kearny, another Dallas-based attorney representing the family, said. 

The lawsuit, which was filed in May, claims “by failing to provide masks and other (personal protective equipment), Regency unnecessarily exposed its patients and staff to unreasonable risks of serious harm causing Mr. Dotson’s untimely death.” 

“It’s a 100 year pandemic, but if you run a nursing home, or an assisted living center, you know that you are susceptible each and every year to respiratory diseases,” Brogdon said. 

Regency runs the West Oaks Nursing & Rehabilitation Center where Dotson worked. An official there said while they cannot comment on pending litigation, in the first week of March they developed a coordinated COVID-19 plan, where they secured PPE and enhanced their infection control protocols.  

“I can tell you the first week of March we assembled an Emergency Preparedness Committee consisting of physicians, nurses, and other healthcare experts and developed a coordinated COVID-19 plan. We secured equipment we would need to protect patients, families and staff and established Personal Protective Equipment warehouses to ensure that all needed supplies were readily available. We also closed all facilities to visitors, cancelled group activities and enhanced our infection control protocols to reduce the risk to patients and staff.  We continue to update these protocols as we receive additional guidance from a variety of government agencies,” Brooke Ladner, senior vice president of business development, said in an email to Spectrum News. 

Ladner said their protocols include regular COVID-19 testing for all staff, regular cleaning and sanitizing, requiring all staff and visitors to wear masks upon entry, installing heating and air condition filters, separating intake areas for admissions, and creating dedicated COVID-19 units. 

When it comes to another round of stimulus, Senate Republicans are steadfast in their support to include liability shields for businesses, schools, universities, hospitals, and nursing homes. Hoping to jumpstart the economy, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) has proposed the shield should last five years. 

“We need to ensure that our health care workers aren't taken to the cleaners for doing everything in their power in good faith to respond to the crisis,” Cornyn said on the Senate floor, Friday. 

Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill believe such sweeping immunity would not be fair to workers and lawsuits would be a source of recourse. 

The attorneys for Maurice Dotson’s family believe with a liability shield in place, it would be that much harder to prove negligence. They also point to how the number of coronavirus-related suits during the pandemic remains minimal. 

As for Dotson’s mother, said she just does not want his death to be in vain.  The suit seeks $1 million in damages and attorneys said his mother wants to save other families from experiencing a similar loss. 

“She's hopeful that she has saved the lives of other nurse’s aides, and hopefully prevented loss of family,” Kearney said.