Could the Coronavirus Pandemic Cases Lead to Personal Injury Claims from Businesses?
Anyone who has paid attention to the news recently has likely seen plenty of information on the coronavirus pandemic. This has had an unprecedented impact on the world as a whole and small businesses are not immune. Concerts are being canceled, the sports world is completely on hold, and many companies are asking their employees to work from home in an effort to keep them safe; however, not every company is taking that route. Some people are still being asked to come to work. This has led many people to ask whether or not this could lead to a spate of personal injury cases.
In order to answer this question, many people are looking to the opioid epidemic for answers. The opioid epidemic has impacted countless individuals and families across the country. In many cases, opioid overdoses have placed people in the hospital. Some people have ended up with personal injuries. Numerous large companies, such as Perdue Pharmaceutical and Johnson & Johnson, have been held accountable. There have been hundreds of millions of dollars paid out to individuals and families. This is a comparable situation to that of the coronavirus pandemic and so many people are drawing comparisons.
According to George T. Bochanis Law Offices, “a personal injury can be physically, emotionally and financially devastating for both you and the people you love.” While many people think about head injuries and broken bones, this includes illnesses that people pick up while at work. Coronavirus is incredibly contagious and many people do not even know that they’re infected because it can take up to two weeks for people to develop symptoms. This means that people can unknowingly transmit this virus to others. This has the potential to have a tremendous impact on small businesses who might have employees at work with this virus. Because this virus as a mortality rate that is at least ten times that of the flu, it has the potential to impact the majority of the country by the time it is contained.
For this reason, it is critical for every business to be prepared to deal with this situation. Businesses need to do the right thing and take steps to prevent people from coming into work. The less time people spend around others, the easier it is going to be to contain this virus. Businesses that continue to ask their employees to come to work may open themselves up to personal injury claims. If someone catches this virus while at work, they might end up with significant medical expenses. The cost of spending a week in the hospital can be substantial and health insurance might not cover the totality of the medical bills. For this reason, small businesses need to be prepared for the coronavirus pandemic to impact their businesses as well.
