Businesses fear opening up their storefronts and getting sued from customers who contract COVID-19. For the second meeting of the state’s industries hit the hardest by a Florida economy reeling from COVID-19 lockdowns, talks shifted more to the outdoors, but businesses still want swift and clear action. Dana Young, CEO of VISIT FLORIDA again led the panel, which on Wednesday focused on outdoor recreation, professional sports, theme parks and retail. The prior meeting, the day before, mainly focused on lodging and accommodations. One shared concern raised by business interests is the fear customers could contract COVID-19 at their business and slap them with a lawsuit. St. Petersburg Republican Sen. Jeff Brandes is writing up legislation for a possible Special Session or the 2021 Session to protect businesses against those lawsuits. “Asymptomatic people working in their faculty could spread the disease and lawsuits could come from that,” he told Florida Politics. AJ de Moya, with The de Moya Group, said businesses have never faced lawsuits for […]

(The Center Square) – Nonessential Florida businesses want assurances from the state Legislature that if they reopen in accordance with state and federal guidelines, they will not be sued if patrons and workers contract COVID-19. “I’ve got friends that run Dow 30 companies in Florida and they are concerned that opening up their offices will put them at traumatic risk,” said AJ de Moya, vice president and general manager with The de Moya Group, a Miami-based road builder. “I think it’s really important and we protect this.” De Moya’s comments came during Wednesday’s teleconference meeting of the Re-Open Florida Task Force’s 35-member Working Group on Tourism, Construction, Real Estate, Recreation, Retail and Transportation. The potential that some businesses may not reopen out of a fear of lawsuits is something lawmakers already had planned to address in a special session, Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, told Florida Politics. “Asymptomatic people working in their facility could spread the disease and lawsuits could come from that,” Brandes said, […]

Last week Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York issued an executive order which granted immunity from lawsuits to medical healthcare providers for injury or death. The March 23, 2020 order provided, among many things: “to the extent necessary to provide that all physicians, physician assistants, specialists assistant, nurse practitioners, licensed registered professional nurses and licensedpractical nurses shall be immune from civil liability for any injury or death alleged to have been sustained directly as a result or an act or omission by such medical professional in the course of providing medical services in support of the state’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak, unless it is established that such injury or death was caused by the gross negligence of such medical professional”. Certainly, these are unprecedented times that call for unprecedented measures. Florida already has strictregulations that provide for such immunity and protections to healthcare providers and no new laws, executive orders or amendments are required to protect healthcare providers rendering services for COVID-19 related care. […]

Sitting in traffic – waiting for the light to change when suddenly you are hit from behind.  You were wearing your seatbelt.  You were paying attention and doing everything right.  Your car was hit so hard that it was pushed into the car ahead of you.  What do you do?  What’s the next step?   You were driving northboundon US-1 in Miami.  You were going the speed limit when suddenly a driver to your right veers into your lane and crashes into you.  You stop and get out of your car.  The whole side of your car is wrecked, and the other driver begins to shout over and over again, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry”.  What do you do?  Who do you call other than the police?  Do you call your insurance company?  Do you pull over to the side of the road and move your car out of traffic?   You stop at the stop sign on a residential street.  You’re making a […]