Texas House Passes Pandemic Liability Protection Act
More Emerging Litigation Claims and Demands from COVID-19
On December 12, 2022, the New York State Legislature passed a workplace safety bill known as “Carlos’ Law.” This bill, originally introduced in 2017 and named for an individual who died on a construction worksite in 2015,...more
A common question posed during the pandemic has been whether employers can face liability for COVID-19 infections originating in the workplace. As to employees who contract COVID-19, the answer has been that an employee’s...more
On June 23, 2021, the U.S. District Court in Maryland dismissed a case in which a Southwest Airlines Co. (Southwest) flight attendant sued the airline for the wrongful death of her husband. In the case, Estate of William...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
As we entered a new decade in 2020, Canada saw significant developments in labour and employment law, some of which related to COVID-19. This Insight provides an overview of 14 key 2020 developments, with links to more...more
The much-anticipated surge of COVID-19 pandemic-related litigation has begun. As the pandemic continues to lay siege to the United States economy, claimants’ lawyers and government agencies have begun setting their sights on...more
Since March 2020, approximately 4,219 Covid-19 related cases have been filed across the United States, including: 1,004 Insurance Related Cases... 716 Prisoner/Habeas Corpus Cases... 538 Civil Rights Cases... 415 Labor and...more
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...more
Re-opening the workplace may expose employers to potential liabilities, particularly if an employee contracts the virus from a workplace exposure. Some companies are already becoming involved in such lawsuits and they may...more
Among the many issues employers are struggling with in the midst of the current COVID-19 crisis is the risk of harm to an essential employee who is compelled to report to work. While, of course, most employers are proactively...more
Employers are starting to be served with wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits alleging an employee’s exposure to COVID-19 at work should lead to employer liability, despite the general rule that the workers’...more
In Marchand v. Barnhill et al. (“Blue Bell”),1 the Delaware Supreme Court on June 19 unanimously reversed the dismissal of a shareholder derivative lawsuit against the members of the board of directors and two officers of...more
On July 17, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed a verdict that had found an employer criminally liable for an employee's fatal fall. ...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Cal/OSHA regulations are enforced by a state agency in administrative litigation. A new Supreme Court decision, Solus Industrial Innovations, Inc. v. Superior Court, allows employees allegedly suffering...more
Corporate defendants have the right to a speedy trial, without requiring them to prove actual prejudice to their fair trial rights. In R v Stephensons Rental Services, a March 2017 decision of the Ontario Court of Justice,...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Companies cannot go to prison, but their executives and managers can when they violate the OSHA laws. And, companies can face stiff fines and other business-disrupting (or ending) collateral consequences...more
In a first for the province of Ontario, on January 11, 2016, a construction project manager charged and convicted under the Bill C-45 amendments to the Criminal Code was sentenced to serve time in prison for criminal...more
A California court recently held that Four Loko is not protected from liability in a wrongful death lawsuit. Fiorini v. City Brewing Co., LLC, 2014 WL 5743133 (Cal. Ct. App. Nov. 6, 2014). In this case, the parents of a...more
An Illinois Appellate Court recently held that an employer must defend against a wrongful death lawsuit alleging that it was negligent in failing to investigate death threats that its employee had emailed to his family from...more