"The arguments to include them have dwindled quickly, most obviously because we’re 10 months into the pandemic and there hasn’t been a wave of frivolous lawsuits. Why would it happen in the next three months if it hasn’t happened already?"
Are courts finally back in full swing with respect to hearing cases? At the start of the pandemic some trials were being held up. I don't know if any cases are on the docket about this now but I suspect we may see more when the pandemic comes closer to ending, especially because so many more people are getting infected on a daily basis despite there being even less of an excuse for the extreme negligence required to enable infection.
For example, when the pandemic was starting and we knew less about how COVID-19 spreads, it would be hard to argue a business was being negligent due to the lack of information. Now, we know much more about how the disease spreads and how to prevent it so anyone enabling its spread (e.g. the sit-in protests encouraged by restaurants against restrictions) should be at greater risk of getting sued.
Is a wave of lawsuits possible once court cases which establish the precedence for negligence have been won?
Hey Cory! I don't know if courts are in "full swing" but there are absolutely lawsuits happening related to COVID-19 and working conditions. They just aren't a frivolous and there hasn't been a wave of them. It's funny, I actually come to a different conlcusion with the same info -- my suspicion would actually be that lawsuits are going to be *less* likely going forward, not more likely. We agree that now we know more about the virus than we did 6 months ago, and to me that's going to help business owners and execs make more responsibly and informed decisons, at least to do the bare minimum to protect their workers. 6 months ago, I think they were more likely to make irresponsible decisions that weeks or months later looked a lot worse, thus prompting lawsuits.
"According to a tracker maintained by the law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth that monitors suits related to the pandemic, there have been 23 commercial personal injury complaints, 118 employment claims for things like failure to provide PPE, and 108 wrongful death claims."
My thought with more lawsuits is simply having less excuses for negligence at this point in the pandemic and yet we're hitting new case records almost daily (granted, much of those could simply be related to holiday gatherings this time of year.)
I can't imagine a reputable lawyer filing a COVID-related case earlier this year but I would expect stronger cases now given the trove of recommendations available with possibly more to follow once 'negligence during a global pandemic' precedents have been established. Maybe it won't be as many as the GOP fears (hopefully not).
I'm just trying to see if I can rationalize their view with my limited knowledge on the subject.
RE: Protection against COVID-related lawsuits:
"The arguments to include them have dwindled quickly, most obviously because we’re 10 months into the pandemic and there hasn’t been a wave of frivolous lawsuits. Why would it happen in the next three months if it hasn’t happened already?"
Are courts finally back in full swing with respect to hearing cases? At the start of the pandemic some trials were being held up. I don't know if any cases are on the docket about this now but I suspect we may see more when the pandemic comes closer to ending, especially because so many more people are getting infected on a daily basis despite there being even less of an excuse for the extreme negligence required to enable infection.
For example, when the pandemic was starting and we knew less about how COVID-19 spreads, it would be hard to argue a business was being negligent due to the lack of information. Now, we know much more about how the disease spreads and how to prevent it so anyone enabling its spread (e.g. the sit-in protests encouraged by restaurants against restrictions) should be at greater risk of getting sued.
Is a wave of lawsuits possible once court cases which establish the precedence for negligence have been won?
Hey Cory! I don't know if courts are in "full swing" but there are absolutely lawsuits happening related to COVID-19 and working conditions. They just aren't a frivolous and there hasn't been a wave of them. It's funny, I actually come to a different conlcusion with the same info -- my suspicion would actually be that lawsuits are going to be *less* likely going forward, not more likely. We agree that now we know more about the virus than we did 6 months ago, and to me that's going to help business owners and execs make more responsibly and informed decisons, at least to do the bare minimum to protect their workers. 6 months ago, I think they were more likely to make irresponsible decisions that weeks or months later looked a lot worse, thus prompting lawsuits.
This article had a big influence on my thinking: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/12/15/disturbing-values-driving-gops-handling-covid-relief/
"According to a tracker maintained by the law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth that monitors suits related to the pandemic, there have been 23 commercial personal injury complaints, 118 employment claims for things like failure to provide PPE, and 108 wrongful death claims."
All good items to note, thanks Isaac!
My thought with more lawsuits is simply having less excuses for negligence at this point in the pandemic and yet we're hitting new case records almost daily (granted, much of those could simply be related to holiday gatherings this time of year.)
I can't imagine a reputable lawyer filing a COVID-related case earlier this year but I would expect stronger cases now given the trove of recommendations available with possibly more to follow once 'negligence during a global pandemic' precedents have been established. Maybe it won't be as many as the GOP fears (hopefully not).
I'm just trying to see if I can rationalize their view with my limited knowledge on the subject.