Is Your Business at Risk of a Costly Coronavirus Lawsuit?

Some U.S. businesses may not have been strict about their employees practicing COVID-19 protocols at their facilities early in the pandemic, such as social distancing, wearing masks, and routine handwashing. Businesses which experienced COVID-19 outbreaks are now faced with costly lawsuit claims that workers brought coronavirus home and infected relatives,  Reuters reports.

These lawsuits are referred to as “take-home” cases and have been around for decades, mainly involving asbestos claims. The courts have been split on deciding if a business has an obligation to members of the public like family members who have never been on their premises. Attorneys for both plaintiffs and businesses have said take-home lawsuits require proof of a strong chain linking the sick family member to the worker and then to the business, as well as proof that the business failed to adopt safety precautions.

The first believed take home-lawsuit claim was filed on August 5 by an Illinois woman, whose mother died from contracting COVID-19 from her husband (the plaintiff’s father), who worked at Aurora Packing Co.’s meat processing plant. The plaintiff’s father worked “shoulder to shoulder” on the company’s processing line in April when the company knew there was a coronavirus outbreak at the facility, the lawsuit alleges. The company failed to warn employees or adapt infection prevention precautions, according to the lawsuit.

Another Illinois woman filed a lawsuit on August 11 against Byrne & Schaefer Inc., a manufacturer of electrical components in Lockport, Illinois. The lawsuit alleges the plaintiff’s husband, who is a parts assembler at the company, had COVID-19 in April and she contracted it herself while caring for him, and suffered “serious injuries to multiple organs.” According to Reuters, the lawsuit lists 18 categories of alleged shortcomings from the company, including not cleaning work areas and ignoring employees who had coronavirus symptoms. Tim Byrne, company owner, told Reuters that his employees routinely wore masks and gloves before the pandemic.

Praedicat, a science-based data analytics firm that assesses risks for insurers, told Reuters these lawsuits could cost businesses US$21 billion if American fatalities reach 300,000. The best protection for business owners and facility managers is to adopt and document COVID-19 prevention measures to protect workers.