Business groups say Gov. Wolf’s civil immunity for healthcare providers not enough

Gov. Tom Wolf signed an executive order Wednesday, affording certain healthcare practitioners protection against liability for good faith actions taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic – a move state business groups say does not go far enough.

Gordon Denlinger, Pennsylvania State Director for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), said in response to the governor’s order that any small business is at risk of “frivolous lawsuits” as the state reopens and attempts to address the economic crisis caused by COVID-19.

“As small businesses begin to reopen, they are vulnerable to lawsuits even if they do their best to follow all the required health protocols. They will need protection from liability,” Denlinger said. “A single lawsuit, even if the business owner did nothing wrong, can wipe them out due to the costs of a legal defense. With the shutdowns small businesses have lost all or a good bit of revenue, so any unjustified lawsuit could easily put them out of business for good.”

NFIB has released various policy recommendations to state and federal lawmakers regarding small business liability related to COVID-19. It suggests that the workers’ compensation system should be the exclusive way to resolve claims of work-related infection, fines should be imposed on trial attorneys who bring frivolous COVID-19-related lawsuits, and permitted lawsuits should be limited to people who experience a serious physical injury due to COVID-19 resulting in hospitalization.

PA Chamber of Business and Industry President and CEO Gene Barr said businesses on the front lines of the COVID-19 battle, such as those working to make personal protective equipment and those ensuring that critical supply chains continue, should be protected from unscrupulous lawsuits as well.

“Unfortunately, Governor Wolf’s announcement today regarding liability protections for some healthcare workers doesn’t go nearly far enough,” Barr said. “These protections must be extended to the entire medical community – including hospitals and health systems – who continue to make great economic sacrifices as they work to slow the spread of the virus and treat patients.”

In his statement, Barr also noted that several state businesses have altered their practices during the pandemic, closing physical locations, reworking operations to comply with federal health guidelines, and shifting production lines to provide personal protective equipment to the medical community.

“If they continue to proceed in these efforts without liability protections in place, hospitals and businesses could face mountains of lawsuits – which would further stall our recovery efforts, and lead to closures and shutdowns,” Barr said. “It’s important to note, this would not be blanket immunity, but protection that is targeted, narrow and temporary.”

Barr cited a recent poll by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform that showed the majority of the American public believe that employers must have protections from COVID-19-related lawsuits as they navigate their post-pandemic plans to reopen their businesses.

“The global pandemic has caused tremendous economic harm to our nation. As employers plan to reopen safely and sustainably, the last thing they need is to face a financially crippling lawsuit despite their best effort to comply with public health guidelines,” said Harold Kim, president of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. “Any protections for employers should be targeted, timely, and temporary and that no business should be protected from lawsuits for gross negligence.”