“Take-Home” COVID-19 Lawsuits Could Be Costly

Companies with COVID-19 outbreaks could be vulnerable to costly lawsuits over workers’ transmission of the virus to their families, Reuters reports.

Roughly 7% to 9% of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. are believed to be “take-home infections,” where someone contracted the disease at work and then infects family members at home.
Praedicat, a firm that evaluates risks for insurance companies, calculates that these types of lawsuits could cost companies as much as $21 billion if the number of U.S. COVID-19 deaths reaches 300,000.

As we explained back in July, a number of COVID-19 liability lawsuits are likely to be brought forward over the next two to five years, and the flood of COVID-19 litigation isn’t expected to begin until spring 2022.

More to the story: The NAM prevailed on Senate leaders—and the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus—to include key liability protections in draft COVID-19 relief legislation, while its efforts with manufacturing association partners continue to yield advances in many states.