As we work through the Coronavirus pandemic that is striking the globe, many people are being told to self quarantine, isolate, socially distance themselves, and work from home. There are many whose jobs cannot be done remotely, such as people in the service and retail industries, and continue to commute and go into work; many offices also do not have the bandwidth and/or resources to enable their workforce to telecommute.
For those forced to interact with others, the odds of contracting COVID-19 are quite a bit higher as the virus can survive on solid surfaces for up to three (3) days, meaning that touching an item, such as a door, that an infected person touched days ago could lead to spreading the virus. Additionally, younger and healthier people can be asymptomatic, meaning that they are carrying and spreading the virus around without showing signs of sickness themselves. If your server happens to be asymptomatic, there are good chances you could contract the virus if you eat at their restaurant.
(Disclaimer: restaurants adhere to strict cleaning compliance and regulations. Many are following food safe protocols and going above and beyond to clean more aggressively and frequently. continue to support local restaurants.)
But let’s say you’re a worker, or a store’s patron, and you contract the Coronavirus. You’re absolutely sure you know where and (you claim you know exactly) how you contracted it. You believe it’s a violation of your rights and was an act of negligence on the part of your employer, the shop owner, or a worker, and you want to sue for personal injury. Can you do it?
Yes, you absolute can sue someone and claim they gave you COVID-19, but you’re facing an uphill battle, even with a Denver personal injury attorney at your side to assist you. You’ll need to prove:
- The other party acted negligently
- The other party acted with malice
- They knew they were sick and infected you
- The employee’s manager, or location owner, knew they were sick and did nothing to mitigate spreading the virus
- And more conditions and requirements to prove they were at fault.
Even with what you might consider overwhelming evidence, it’s still very difficult to prove negligence of another party infecting you. Theoretically, you could have contracted the virus from anywhere and any surface you touched in the last two weeks.
However, if you feel that someone intentionally gave you the virus, you should absolutely call our offices to speak with a Denver personal injury lawyer to see if you have a case. We’re here to help during this concerning time and hope that everyone stays safe and healthy.