I think the only way for companies to avoid lawsuits is for the CDC and state/federal agencies to create a non-negotiable set of rules regarding sanitation, social distancing, number of people allowed in office building at one time, mask wearing, etc...

From what I've seen in my office since we opened back up last week, simply giving suggestions and encouraging best practices isn't going to work. And that will leave companies at risk for lawsuits.

Shouldn't have to be enforceable rules just to avoid litigation. Suggestions, guidelines, and general awareness SHOULD absolutely be enough. Maybe some damn adults in the work force should start taking responsibility for themselves?

These lawsuits are absolutely coming soon, and I can tell you that my clients are scared to death of them. Also, insurance companies are already saying they will not cover these claims. This is going to be a major major problem.

RandyAg98 said:

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THIS THREAD

Another poster in another thread posted (bolding is mine):

Quote:

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That was the case in my office back in late April. 8 of us, including me, tested positive. I'm pissed, because I followed company policy to the letter, but still got infected (masks were mandatory on the production floor, but not in the office. The person who infected me was in the office). I'm considered 'recovered,' but I still have many lingering affects which I've been told may last awhile

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How long until we start seeing opportunistic lawyers suing companies because their "policies" may not have been as strict as the company down the street, or they opened a week earlier than another company, etc...and one of their employees got sick with COVID?

Believe me, it's coming. And as a small business owner, it scares the hell out of me. I own a vet clinic. I have tried to do everything in my power to keep my staff and my clients safe during this time. We are still not allowing any clients in the building, but we necessarily have to work in close quarters.

What if one of my employees gets sick, or God-forbid dies, and a lawyer starts picking apart every nit in my company policies?

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As long as reasonable efforts have been made, documented and communicated, I would expect that the you would have a winning defense in against a lawsuit...but like someone else said, anyone can sue for any reason, right or wrong, so the headaches are likely to be there.

The burden of proof will be on the accuser, and proving causation will be extremely difficult. However, as the other posters said, all it takes is a plaintiff looking for money and an unscrupulous lawyer with an Internet connection in Microsoft Word to draft and file the lawsuit. Once it is on file, it costs money to defend. And insurance ain't gonna pay for it.

It's absolutely coming. Hearing from many sources that some large companies are preparing to roll out apps to employees that will require them to self disclose their health daily before they walk through the door. Temp scans may also be here to stay for at least the next 12-24 months.

There will be lots of law firms angling for class actions. They will be attempting to extort settlements, being unable to demonstrate a chain of causality for any individuals.

Already happening. Tyson packing plant in Amarillo has been sued by the family of an employee who died.

They will have to choose between paying out a big pile of money out of court while admitting no fault, or pay an even bigger pile of money to lawyers and risk their fate to the whims of 12 people too clueless to come up with a reasonable excuse to avoid jury duty.

Now Carnival cruise lines is in the same boat...

Randy,

It's an interesting topic, and since you're quoting me, I'll add some additional thoughts to your topic.

My wife and I own a rental property, that we lease to an attorney. He called me about a week ago to check up on me and to see how I was doing. He then asked, "Are you going to sue?" I told him I'd contemplated it but didn't know what I was going to do. He then asked these two questions: Did the company ask you to sign a release as a condition of coming back to work? The answer to that is no. Second question....Did the company hide the initial Covid positive cases from you which put you in a situation to get infected? Again, the answer to that is no. Based on my answers, he said I probably didn't have a case.

Regarding Tyson and the death of a loved one...different situation there in my opinion. I'd file suit. Also, consider this...four USDA meat inspectors have died from Covid. Employed by the Federal Government, but assigned to meat plants like Tyson. You're darned right I'd sue here as well.

Unless it was done deliberately, All it does is cost everyone else using that service/product.


When I was around 10, my mom got polyps removed during a colonoscopy. Her Gastro forgot to tell her not to take aspirin based products and she took a pain reliever called Vanquish that used to be around. She ended up losing around 75% of the blood in her body from hemorrhaging, was transported to the hospital via Star Flight, and almost died. Her doctor came to the hospital and apologized for his mistake. That's all she wanted.

Sue happy country we live in.

heineman78 said:

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Unless it was done deliberately, All it does is cost everyone else using that service/product.


When I was around 10, my mom got polyps removed during a colonoscopy. Her Gastro forgot to tell her not to take aspirin based products and she took a pain reliever called Vanquish that used to be around. She ended up losing around 75% of the blood in her body from hemorrhaging, was transported to the hospital via Star Flight, and almost died. Her doctor came to the hospital and apologized for his mistake. That's all she wanted.

Sue happy country we live in.

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Sadly now the doctor's insurance company would train the doctor to not make an apology.

I'm sure some suits will be filed, but if these are successful it just opens up the floodgates for anyone getting ill or dying of a communicable disease from suing someone with money/insurance. If you want to get technical about it, sue the person who gave it to you. Oh yeah, you can't prove that either. Such horse*#@!

It has begun. Amazon Sued

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc has been sued for allegedly fostering the spread of the coronavirus by mandating unsafe working conditions, causing at least one employee to contract COVID-19, bring it home, and see her cousin die.

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AggieBiker said:

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heineman78 said:

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Unless it was done deliberately, All it does is cost everyone else using that service/product.


When I was around 10, my mom got polyps removed during a colonoscopy. Her Gastro forgot to tell her not to take aspirin based products and she took a pain reliever called Vanquish that used to be around. She ended up losing around 75% of the blood in her body from hemorrhaging, was transported to the hospital via Star Flight, and almost died. Her doctor came to the hospital and apologized for his mistake. That's all she wanted.

Sue happy country we live in.

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Sadly now the doctor's insurance company would train the doctor to not make an apology.

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No, this is the exact opposite of what is taught when medical errors occur. We are taught to apologize for any errors or faults up front.

As far as OP I started a thread about this months ago and it was ignored. It is going to be a huge issue in medical practices as well. If I got COVID I could easily expose nearly 400 people before being symptomatic. A bit over 100 patients/week + their families.

It's scary.

PM

KidDoc said:

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AggieBiker said:

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heineman78 said:

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Unless it was done deliberately, All it does is cost everyone else using that service/product.


When I was around 10, my mom got polyps removed during a colonoscopy. Her Gastro forgot to tell her not to take aspirin based products and she took a pain reliever called Vanquish that used to be around. She ended up losing around 75% of the blood in her body from hemorrhaging, was transported to the hospital via Star Flight, and almost died. Her doctor came to the hospital and apologized for his mistake. That's all she wanted.

Sue happy country we live in.

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Sadly now the doctor's insurance company would train the doctor to not make an apology.

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No, this is the exact opposite of what is taught when medical errors occur. We are taught to apologize for any errors or faults up front.

As far as OP I started a thread about this months ago and it was ignored. It is going to be a huge issue in medical practices as well. If I got COVID I could easily expose nearly 400 people before being symptomatic. A bit over 100 patients/week + their families.

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Glad to hear you are encouraged to express your compassion. I had no doubt that many doctors would like to apologize but I am surprised insurance, and their lawyers, would not discourage an apology for a consequential mistake. Increases your chance of liability in court. Not blaming the doctors of course but the sue-intensive society we live in.

Apparently most of you have not heard of employer immunity under workmen's comp laws. If it can be show the disease was contracted at work, it's a WC claim and the employee cannot sue ( except in cases of gross negligence).

The cousin could try to sue, I guess, but good luck showing a duty of a relative's employer to someone they never see.

Patentmike said:

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Apparently most of you have not heard of employer immunity under workmen's comp laws. If it can be show the disease was contracted at work, it's a WC claim and the employee cannot sue ( except in cases of gross negligence).

The cousin could try to sue, I guess, but good luck showing a duty of a relative's employer to someone they never see.

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The exclusive remedy rule would certainly apply to the employer, but I believe the inspector in this scenario is employed by USDA, so I don't think the plant operator would be shielded, but I could be wrong about that. I'm not sure what the duty would be if the plant operator is not the employer--I don't do personal injury work, so I can't tell you if this would be a premises liability claim, and if so, what the standard would be.

As you note, because there is a death, the surviving spouse would be able to bring a gross negligence wrongful death claim against the employer, but that is a tough standard to meet.

We made our return to work voluntary for this reason. We're a very small company and everyone chose to return to work. I guess we've been lucky to have employees that actually want to come work

Can we sue for flu contraction? I don't see a real difference under the law. And, I hope not.