Can You Sue for Personal Injury in Regard to Covid?
Michael Babboni
Personal Injury
Florida is becoming popular and well-known worldwide as Governor Ron DeSantis continues to sign legislation protecting businesses and healthcare providers from personal injury lawsuits resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.Today, we will dive a little deeper into this and tell you everything you need to know when it comes to personal injury, your health, and your rights in Florida.
COVID-19 Legislation
According to Senate Bill 72 that was passed in March of this year, it offers protection to "certain business entities, educational institutions, government entities, and religious institutions" from what is considered unbounded liability. This means that an affidavit needs to be signed by a licensed physician in the case of a complaint related to COVID-19.
A court is now allowed to dismiss a complaint that is filed without this affidavit because it is looked at as an injury caused by the actions or oversight of the defendant.
Are There Obstacles?
Personal injury complaints filed due to COVID-19 must be pled with particularity. The plaintiff must be able to provide the court with specific details about what caused the injuries. They will not accept a general statement to help avoid fraudulent claims and cases.
It then must be determined if the defendant followed through with a good faith effort to comply with government-issued health standards. If not, the defendant may not be entirely free from any liability.
Gross negligence in the case must be proven and must be clear for the case to continue. If this cannot be proven, then no legal action can be pursued.
What Must a Plaintiff Do?
To prove their case, a plaintiff must plead their case with very specific details and submit the affidavit as described above. They must then provide evidence proving that the defendant failed to comply with safety regulations and that failure caused the plaintiff's injuries. The burden of proof falls to the plaintiff.
It can also prove difficult for a physician to prove with medical certainty that the plaintiff's COVID-related injuries occurred because of the defendant's oversight. This is due to the long incubation period of COVID and the difficulty of pinpointing the exact time and location of contraction.
Proving Gross Negligence
For negligence to become what is considered gross negligence, it must be proven that the defendant acted with a blatant disregard for the plaintiff's health and overall wellbeing. To establish gross negligence in any case, one must prove that the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty, they failed to perform that duty of care, and as a result, the plaintiff sustained injuries and suffered harm.
However, this bill is making it increasingly harder for a person to hold a business or entity liable. This means that many of these cases will fail to ever even make it to court.
What Can You Do?
As you can see, this is a complex topic, and it may be difficult to prove personal injury. For this reason, you want to connect with an experienced Florida personal injury attorney. They can go over your options with you and see what can be done.