New Jersey officials agreed to pay about $53 million to the families of state-run veterans-home residents to settle claims that managers in the facilities acted with gross negligence in fending off the coronavirus pandemic, according to a state official and a lawyer for the families.

The settlement covers claims by kin of 119 residents, most of whom died during early 2020 Covid-19 outbreaks, at the Menlo Park and Paramus Veterans Memorial Homes, amounting to an average of $445,000 per family, the people said.