Goddammit like a beaver. please.
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Employers Face Increase In COVID-19 Wrongful Death Lawsuits
Insights
8.07.20
As COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise, so too does the number of lawsuits filed against employers. Recently, an increasing number of families of employees who died from COVID-19 have asserted wrongful death actions against employers for failing to keep their family members safe while at work. What can employers learn from these lawsuits to not only keep their workers safe but avoid being on the receiving end of such a claim?
Examples Of COVID-19 Wrongful Death Lawsuits
Throughout the country, employers are starting to be served with wrongful death lawsuits alleging an employee’s exposure to COVID-19 at work should lead to employer liability, despite the general rule that the workers’ compensation system is the exclusive remedy for such claims. The below matters are some examples of the types of claims that have been asserted against employers by families of deceased workers:
Lanzo v. Generations Behavioral Health
The plaintiff, the wife of a deceased employee working as a nurse at a mental health facility, alleges wrongful death under Ohio law. In support of her claim, the plaintiff alleges that the mental health facility failed or refused to follow COVID-19 directives issued by the state in order to reduce the spread of the virus. This, the complaint states, exposed her husband, Raymond Lanzo, to COVID-19.
The complaint does not claim the facility was wrong to operate during the pandemic, but that it failed to implement the policies and procedures that it should have in place to follow the state’s pandemic directives. The plaintiff further alleges that the company was “negligent” in its failure to provide “appropriate safety equipment.” Allegations in the complaint also include that the mental health facility’s conduct was “wanton and willful,” likely both to enhance damages and avoid any argument by Generations Behavioral Health that workers’ compensation bars the claims, as simple negligence claims against an employer are typically barred by the workers’ compensation laws. Nevertheless, the plaintiff is seeking more than $25,000 in damages, including medical bills and funeral expenses.
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