In an unpublished decision, the Appellate Division reinstated a Bergen County Superior Court wrongful-death suit in favor of the family of married health care aides who died from COVID-19, finding the trial court denied the plaintiffs’ motion to amend before discovery was completed.
The estates of Alfredo and Susana Pabatao, a couple married for more than 40 years, filed suit in July 2021 against Hackensack Meridian Health and Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen. Alfredo Pabatao worked at the hospital as a transport aide, while Susana Pabatao worked at a nearby nursing home. But the couple died at the hospital, just days apart, on March 26 and 30, 2020, due to COVID-19, according to the opinion.