Associated Press: Missouri family files claim in nurse’s death from virus
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Attorneys for the family of a Missouri nurse who died from COVID-19 filed a claim for death benefits Monday under the state’s workers’ compensation laws.
Celia Yap-Banago, 69, died April 21 after caring for a patient with COVID-19 at Research Medical Center in Kansas City. Her family, attorneys and the National United Nurses Union contend she died because she and other nurses at the hospital did not have adequate personal protective equipment while caring for patients with the coronavirus.
Attorneys Brent and Kristie Welder said in a news release that Yap-Banago and another nurse cared for a patient with coronavirus on March 22-23. Both nurses asked their supervisors for PPE for everyone who came in contact with the patient but the equipment was not provided, the attorneys said.
After the patient died, Yap-Banago quarantined at her home but died after fighting the virus for a month. The other nurse who treated the patient also developed COVID-19 but recovered, the attorneys said.
The claim was filed on behalf of the husband and two sons of Yap-Banago, who worked at Research for 40 years and had been planning to retire in April.
HCA Midwest, which operates Research Medical, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment, but the company has denied that its nurses did not have adequate PPE.
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