NEWPORT — A legal dispute between a Colorado contractor and Samaritan Pacific Health Services has been resolved through mediation, opening the way for most flooring to be replaced inside the three-story tower at Samaritan’s Newport hospital.
Work will begin later this year and is expected to take 18 to 24 months to complete, the hospital said in a news release this week announcing the settlement.
The general contractor overseeing construction of the hospital’s three-story building and remodeling of an existing two-story building was The Neenan Co. of Fort Collins, Colo. Samaritan filed suit against Neenan in Lincoln County circuit court in late 2021 seeking $12.7 million to repair defective flooring and another $13.4 million for “loss of use of the hospital.”
Samaritan first became aware of the problem shortly after the new building opened in January 2019. Flooring problems included “bubbling, flooring separation, curling, material pulling away from the walls and doors, buckling, and cracking,” the lawsuit said. Neenan’s repair efforts, which lasted for 18 months after the hospital opened, failed to fix the defects, the lawsuit said.
In its court filings, Neenan responded that the flooring problems were “solely or substantially caused by Samaritan’s own negligence or fault, including but not limited to faulty design directions, improper product specifications, and misuse of the installed flooring in violation of applicable standards including manufacturer’s recommendations.” If the flooring wasn’t properly installed, that may be the fault of subcontractors, Neenan also said.
“While we are disappointed that our new hospital developed flooring problems so soon after it opened, we are satisfied with the resolution,” Dr. Lesley Ogden, Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital chief executive officer said in a statement. Ogden said costs involved in finding the cause of the floor’s failure and fixing it will not come from Pacific Communities Health District taxpayers.
Neenan and five subcontractors agreed on a financial settlement that should cover the cost of repairs, Samaritan said in its news release.
Samaritan has begun the process of soliciting bids for the work and hopes to begin before the end of the year.
