A California appeals court permitted a Los Angeles County wrongful death lawsuit for COVID-19 “take-home” liability to proceed. The plaintiff claims that plaintiff’s employer’s negligence resulted in plaintiff’s transmitting COVID-19 to plaintiff’s non-employee spouse, resulting in the spouse’s death. Though raising the specter of broad liability for pandemic-related injury and death, the court did not determine if the employer had an enforceable legal duty. Other defenses protect businesses against personal injury claims arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, including potential “take-home” claims.
In Matilde Ek, et al. v. See’s Candies, Inc., et al., plaintiffs allege that in March 2020, the plaintiff, defendants’ employee, contracted COVID-19 at work. While convalescing at home, plaintiff allegedly transmitted COVID-19 to her non-employee husband, resulting in his death. The family filed a complaint for negligence and premises liability against the employer. The family claims the employer failed to take adequate COVID-19 safety precautions by requiring employees, some of whom were allegedly symptomatic, to work closely together despite the risk of infection and transmission to non-employees.
Defendants moved to dismiss, asserting the suit was barred by the workers’ compensation law because decedent’s infection was derivative of the employee’s. The trial and appellate court rejected defendants’ position. The courts distinguished...
Nana, a former member of the group After School, announced the progress of the investigation into the home invasion robbery and resented that the perpetrator continued to make false claims without ...