Coronavirus victim’s son launches class action against hotel quarantine security firms

The heartbroken son of one of Victoria’s coronavirus victims is leading a class action against the security companies tasked with handling Melbourne’s botched hotel quarantine system which sparked the state’s catastrophic second wave.

Dragan Markovic, who is leading the class action against hotel quarantine, after his father Nenad died of COVID-19 Picture: Alex Coppel

The son of a man killed by the coronavirus is leading a class action against Melbourne’s hotel quarantine security companies.

St Albans man Dragan Markovic says he was forced to watch through a hospital window as his father Nenad died in August.

“He died in such a horrible way … The hotel quarantine, that was the biggest mistake,” Mr Markovic said.

The action, filed against Unified Security Group and MSS Security in the Supreme Court yesterday, claims the firms were responsible for Victoria’s brutal second coronavirus wave.

Genomic sequencing has confirmed that 99 per cent of the second wave could be traced back to the botched quarantine program, leading to more than 700 deaths and thousands of infections.

More than 1000 people could join the lawsuit, Arnold Thomas and Becker law firm said yesterday.

Lawyer Kim Price said the class action was seeking compensation not only for the families of people who have died in the second wave, but also those suffering ongoing health problems as a result of battling coronavirus.

Mr Markovic and his mother, Divna, were forced to watch their beloved father and husband gasping for breath and dying of COVID-19 through a window at Brunswick Private Hospital, as they stood outside on the footpath.

Dragan Markovic with his late father Nenad who died of COVID-19

Mr Markovic died in August Picture: Alex Coppel

Mr Markovic senior died on August 30, about 10 days after being transferred to the hospital from Kalyna Care nursing home, in Melbourne’s northwest.

“I watched the ordeal which was incredibly distressing and traumatic,” his son said.

Mr Markovic said his mother had almost collapsed with shock when her husband died, as he had repeatedly tested negative to COVID-19 in the nursing home, and then again at the hospital, before testing positive shortly before his death.

Slamming the hotel quarantine program, he added: “In a matter of weeks all these people got infected and in a month-and-a-half all these people died.”

Mr Price said it was alleged Victoria’s deadly second COVID wave started when Unified Security Group and MSS Security – contracted to guard returned travellers in quarantine at Melbourne’s Rydges on Swanston and Stamford Plaza hotels – failed to take appropriate measures to prevent the transmission of coronavirus.

Dragan Markovic said his mother had almost collapsed with shock when her husband died Picture: Alex Coppel.

“Had the security firms hired to look after infected travellers not failed to do their job, Mr Markovic’s father and hundreds of other Victorians would still be alive and families would have been spared this unimaginable pain,” Mr Price said.

“Thousands of people across Victoria have now been infected with COVID-19 as a result of the hotel quarantine fiasco.

“Sadly, we will see more deaths and ongoing health problems as a result of this second wave and our clients are looking to us to take action and seek compensation.

“Ultimately, almost all second wave infections appear to have resulted from the negligence of the security companies.”

Mr Markovic (second from left) tested negative to COVID-19 in the nursing home before testing positive shortly before his death Picture: Alex Coppel.

Mr Price said Arnold Thomas and Becker had started a register for people wanting to join the class action.

“We estimate there are well over 1000 individuals covered by the class. We anticipate that a significant number of class members will make claims in the hundreds-of-thousands of dollars,” he said.

“Some clients … have suffered psychiatric injury as a result of the COVID-19 related death of someone close to them. Others have suffered ongoing health issues as a result of contracting the virus.

“We have also been approached by people who are the legal personal representatives of those who have died from COVID-19, as well as people who were dependants of people who have died.

“It’s been such a distressing time for Victorians – so many lives lost and some families have suffered and all of this could have been avoided.”.

The law firm was acting on a “no win, no fee” basis, which meant it would only recover its legal costs if it was successful, through either a court trial or settlements, he said.

Unified Security Group and MSS Security were contacted for comment.

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