Lost Someone To COVID-19? 3 Ways A Business Could Be Liable
COVID-19 can create serious health problems for many at-risk individuals, which is why many states are ramping up their efforts to keep people safe. Many areas have mandates for wearing masks and restrictions on how many people can enter a business, but unfortunately, some business owners are ignoring regulations and advice. If you have recently lost someone to COVID-19, here are three grounds you could sue for in a wrongful death lawsuit.
1. Failure to Enforce Masks
People may not like them, but masks can prevent the spread of many communicable diseases since they limit the number of water droplets that escape from a person's mouth while they are speaking to someone else. Businesses may even be required by the state to ask patrons to wear masks and should enforce mask-wearing while people are inside the business. If your loved one frequented a business routinely that did not require masks and then succumbed to an infection, the business could be held liable for not providing a safe environment.
2. Failure to Require Social Distancing
To make it possible for people to spread out and social distance, many businesses have been asked to restrict the number of people who shop at the same time. Others are required to keep people in specified areas or ask that people distance while in line. Other businesses have even put up plexiglass panels between workers and customers or between areas where customers would sit to prevent airborne transmission.
Whether your loved one worked at a business that didn't take these precautions or happened to visit on a day when standards were particularly relaxed, you could use the information you have about the business to file a claim. Talk with an attorney about what your loved one said about visiting the business, how quickly they became ill, and whether or not you can prove that they visited frequently. If social distancing hasn't been properly required or maintained, the business could be at fault.
3. Lack of Proper Disinfection
Businesses are also responsible to properly disinfect tables, doorknobs, bathrooms, and any area where customers touch to prevent the spread of COVID-19. If the business is dirty or not making cleanliness a priority, they could be at fault. Lawyers can use investigators to monitor how carefully and how frequently businesses are cleaned so they can spot issues and file a lawsuit, if necessary.
If you are wondering if you have a good wrongful death case, don't hesitate to talk with a wrongful death lawyer. Filing a lawsuit could be what it takes to prompt a business to make changes that will keep others safe since preventing the spread of communicable diseases is important and will be an ongoing concern.
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