Can I Sue for Contracting Coronavirus?
When a person is harmed because of the negligence of another, they may be able to sue for damages through a personal injury lawsuit. With the impending explosion of coronavirus cases, some may be wondering if they will be able to sue after contracting the coronavirus at a hospital, nursing home, or on a cruise ship.
If you or a loved one contracted the coronavirus and you believe it was because of the negligence of a business or organization, contact a personal injury lawyer to discuss your legal rights. The personal injury attorney will assess whether the organization took “all reasonable measures” to prevent exposure to the virus. If reasonable measures were not taken, the attorney may be able to help you recover damages.
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What Are the Four Elements of a Successful Personal Injury Claim?
A personal injury claim is a legal dispute that arises because a person has suffered harm from an accident or injury that another person or entity might be legally responsible for because of negligent or reckless behavior. Put another way, injuries caused by another person or organization’s reckless behavior may lead to a personal injury claim. Personal injury attorneys are familiar with the laws in the state they practice and can assess your situation to let you know whether you have a legitimate personal injury claim.
Understanding the four elements of a personal injury claim is the first step to knowing whether you could have a successful claim.
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Princess Cruise Lines Accused of Gross Negligence for Exposing Passengers to Novel Coronavirus
A Florida couple who has been stuck on the Grand Princess cruise liner for days off the coast of San Francisco along with 3,500 other passengers and crew members because 21 people tested positive for the Coronavirus is suing the cruise line. One of the 21 patients died after contracting the virus. The couple is accusing the ship’s operator of gross negligence in allowing them to be exposed to Coronavirus. The couple is seeking more than $1 million in damages, according to a report by CNN.
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Fresh Express Salad Kit Recalled Over Fears of E. Coli Contamination
According to the FDA, eight people have been sickened and three have been hospitalized after eating a Fresh Express salad kit possibly tainted with E. coli. This strain of E. coli (0157:H7) is different from the E. coli outbreak tied to romaine lettuce grown in the Salinas, California region. Federal officials say that it’s possible that the kits contained romaine lettuce from the Salina area but as of now, they have not identified a particular ingredient in the mix that is contaminated with the bacteria. The illnesses were reported from three states: Wisconsin, North Dakota and Minnesota.
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Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning: Personal Injury
In the Pacific Northwest, shellfish are considered a local delicacy and they’re served at high-end restaurants throughout the year. Restaurants and seafood stores owe a duty of care to their clients to serve and sell healthy shellfish that won’t make people sick. Unfortunately, the risk of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) is real in Washington State. According to the Washington State Department of Health, people can get PSP from eating shellfish contaminated with a toxin from the phytoplankton Alexandrium catenella. The biotoxin affects the nervous system and paralyzes muscles. If shellfish with high levels of PSP are ingested, they can cause grave illness and even death. Part of what makes shellfish contaminated with PSP so dangerous is that you cannot kill the biotoxin by cooking or freezing them.
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CDC Announces Romaine Lettuce Recall
On November 22, 2019, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), public health and regulatory officials in several states including The Maryland Department of Health, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are investigating an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections across 16 states connected to romaine lettuce harvested from the Salinas, California growing region. This outbreak is caused by the same strain of E. coli O157:H7 that caused outbreaks linked to leafy greens in 2017 and to romaine lettuce in 2018.
The lettuce was sold under many different brand names and has “Use By” dates ranging from October 29, 2019, to November 1, 2019. They have establishment number “EST. 18502B” inside the USDA mark of inspection. All types of romaine lettuce are included in the recall including precut lettuce and salad mixes that have romaine such as spring mix and Caesar salad kits, baby romaine, hearts of romaine and whole heads of romaine.
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Reminder to Fully Cook Ground Beef after Salmonella Kills One and Hospitalizes Eight Others
According to a statement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday, November 1, there have been 10 reported cases of Salmonella Dublin poisoning linked to ground beef across six states between August 8 and September 22. Victims range in age between 48 and 74 and 80 percent are male. While Salmonella Dublin infections are common among cattle, it does rarely infect people and cause infections in the bloodstream. One person has died, one was sickened and eight others have been hospitalized, giving this outbreak a hospitalization rate of 89 percent. According to Medscape.com, the normal rate of hospitalization for Salmonella poisoning is 20 percent, making this outbreak an outlier.
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May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Let’s Talk about Personal Injury Claims for Mental Health Injuries
Personal injury claims are usually associated with physical injuries like broken bones, soft tissue damage, traumatic brain injuries, burns, cuts, amputations, spinal injuries and others caused by car accidents, slip and fall accidents, or medical malpractice. There are also situations where a personal injury is an infection, food poisoning or other illness. In honor of mental health awareness month, we would like to talk about the reality that physical injuries caused by an accident can create serious psychological injuries.
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Class Action Lawsuit Brought Against UnitedHealth for Denying Mental Health Care
In March, 2019 a federal judge in Northern California ruled that a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group called United Behavioral Health violated its duty to provide coverage for people with mental health and substance use disorder needs covered by their insurance. As reported by MPRnews.org, the class action lawsuit represents about 50,000 people who were covered by the United plans between 2011 and 2017 and who were denied coverage for treatment of behavioral health and substance use problems. The suit accuses the corporation of limiting coverage for urgent behavioral and substance abuse issues and denying coverage for treatment of the underlying, longer-term conditions that led to the urgent issues.
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Massachusetts Sues the Maker of Oxycontin for Role in Opioid Crisis
Drug overdoses are the leading cause of death among Americans under the age of 50 and the numbers have been getting worse every year. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 52,404 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2015, 64,000 died in 2016, and 72,000 died in 2017. In fact, 2017 was the worst year ever for drug overdose deaths in America with almost 200 people dying of drug overdoses every day. Clearly opioids have caused a crisis in this country.