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For The Defense, a national monthly magazine that provides articles pertaining to civil litigation, recently profiled an article that featured one of the most difficult tasks facing lawyers today: defending COVID-19 exposure claims for their business clients.
Written by Richard M. Tomich, attorney at Knight Nicastro MacKay, LLC, the article comprehensively covers the impact of both state and federal legislation and a record number of executive orders issued by governors throughout the country.
Navigating through complex legal matters
In the piece, Tomich also looks at the unprecedented state laws passed and enacted during the public health emergency and their impact on businesses being forced to shutter their operations. The economic consequences have been catastrophic for many once-successful enterprises now facing uncertain futures.
Tomich cites the legal issues surrounding the applications of what has become a patchwork of unprecedented regulations that affect what is covered by insurance and what is not. Addressing his fellow defense lawyers, he implores them to focus on these issues and their impact on the claims they file on behalf of their clients and the new laws enacted in their respective states.
The stakes are high, particularly for businesses seeing an ever-shrinking bottom line combined with an ever-growing number of lawsuits claiming COVID-19 exposure at their respective premises. In response, many states have passed bills that provide potential immunity from these lawsuits, some with more protection than those that shield healthcare providers, first responders, and other essential workers from liability.
When speaking of the changes born from a deadly virus, Tomich refers to the oft-used term, “new normal.” Yet, for business owners, it is more of a “new reality” that is already upon them. Survival of the fittest, both financially and legally, will determine whatever kind of era evolves from a worldwide pandemic.
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