Texas Supreme Court Draws Line on Attorney Immunity Privilege
What Health Care Providers and Facilities Should Know About the PREP Act's "Covered Countermeasures"
What No Statutory COVID Immunity Means for Businesses
Blakes Continuity Podcast: Life Sciences: Liability and Immunity During COVID-19
More Emerging Litigation Claims and Demands from COVID-19
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster has signed into law House Bill 3126, which has implications for public and private employers that continue to require employees in South Carolina to be vaccinated against COVID-19....more
After days of intense discussions, and multiple amendments, in the wee hours of Saturday, October 30, 2021, the Tennessee legislature passed House Bill No. 9077/Senate Bill No. 9014. This new law will have a significant...more
The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued the Eighth Amendment to the Declaration Under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (“PREP Act”) for Medical Countermeasures...more
Welcome to the twelfth issue of the 2021 edition of Unprecedented. Since the COVID-19 vaccines were approved, most employment lawyers agree employers can require employees to become vaccinated (although they are more divided...more
Welcome to the eighth issue of the 2021 edition of Unprecedented. Perhaps the biggest news from these last two weeks was the decision to suspend administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine pending investigation into blood...more
Given the significant push to vaccinate the public since the start of 2021, the increasing availability of vaccines, and the need to recruit additional personnel to administer vaccinations, the secretary of the US Department...more
Over the past year, the big story has been the search for vaccines to protect people from Covid-19. You can’t vaccinate a business, but Arizona businesses are now protected from liability related to Covid-19. ...more
This author much prefers the well-known (at least in some circles) advice from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – “DON’T PANIC.” Unfortunately, even with some hopeful signs of normal (or something close to normal)...more
Following up on Georgia’s “COVID-19 Pandemic Business Safety Act,” passed and signed into law in 2020, the Georgia legislature has passed a one-year extension to the liability protection, to July 14, 2022. The bill has been...more
It has been one year since the COVID-19 pandemic began and during that time more than 9,500 COVID-19 related lawsuits have been filed across the United States. Out of these 9,500 lawsuits, more than 1,800 employment-related...more
A number of states have passed or are considering passing legislation to shield certain businesses from liability from claims for injury caused by exposure to COVID-19. Generally, the laws require that the business was in...more
Individuals and organizations that want to play a role in administering countermeasures to combat a disease or combat a public health emergency, such as COVID-19, worry about the potential legal exposure. The choice to...more
The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently added government contractors to the list of entities eligible for immunity from liability under the Secretary’s March 17, 2020, Public Readiness and...more
On January 28, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a Fifth Amendment to HHS’s Declaration under the Public Health Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) that provides liability immunity...more
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is working to dramatically increase the number of available vaccinators who may administer COVID-19 shots. At a press briefing held on January 27, 2021, White House...more
The executive and judicial branches do not see eye-to-eye on the scope of PREP Act immunity. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), under the current administration, has taken umbrage at how lower courts have...more
With coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines on the horizon amid the surging pandemic, critical extensions expand the scope of liability immunity under the PREP Act....more
In Washington: POLITICO reporter Burgess Everett tweeted that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) says “negotiators should drop both state and local aid and liability shield provisions in order to reach consensus...more
Join key industry stakeholders for a state of the union on COVID-19 related lawsuits, and an assessment of causes of action & defense preparation strategies. ACI’s 2nd National Forum COVID-19 Liability for Long-Term Care...more
On December 3, 2020, in anticipation of one or more forthcoming COVID-19 vaccines, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) purported to broadly expand civil immunity from tort claims related to the manufacture,...more
The Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, Public Law 109-148, Div. C, § 2 (2005) (PREP Act), as amended, authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to limit legal liability for losses relating to...more
To assist in the response of the nation’s health care providers to the COVID-19 pandemic, on August 24, 2020, the Secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a Third Amendment to his March 10,...more