What Happened?

Gutierrez was a deli worker at Publix Super Markets. A fellow employee who worked with him at the deli was showing symptoms of the coronavirus. Gutierrez was ordered to stay home after the fellow employee tested positive for the coronavirus. Gutierrez began developing symptoms of the virus a few days later and then died. His family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Publix alleging that their failed policy to prevent employees from wearing PPE directly resulted in his death.

Filing a Lawsuit Against Your Employer

Any business with four or more employees is required to carry workers’ compensation in Florida. That includes Publix. Workers’ compensation prevents most employees from filing lawsuits against their employers. Instead, they are required to file a claim on their employer’s workers’ compensation policy. Death benefits pay out a maximum of $150,000. So, when you can file a lawsuit against your employer?

Well, you’re allowed to file the lawsuit, but the courts tend to dismiss it because they are prohibited by statute. If the workers’ compensation company refuses to pay the benefits or the terms of the policy don’t cover specific types of worker-related injuries, then the family could file a lawsuit against the company to force them into dealing with the claim. If the workers’ compensation policy either doesn’t cover the situation, then they would be able to file a lawsuit against their employer. However, chances are, their employer will attempt to force the lawsuit through the workers’ compensation system as opposed to allowing the lawsuit to go into litigation.

Other Problems Related to COVID

As part of the last economic relief package, Congressional Republicans hoped to pass limits on what types of lawsuits could be filed related to the coronavirus. This can have a far-reaching impact on those who contract the illness based on someone else’s negligence. In most cases, the standard would be kicked up to a “gross negligence” standard, such as allowing a sick employee to slice deli meat while he was infected and then preventing your employees from protecting themselves.

In that case, the insurance company may be hoping to tie up the claim in litigation for as long as possible until these protections are passed at either the state or federal level. In the meantime, the situation is quite complex and circumstances will determine if the suit can move forward.

Talk to a Miami Personal Injury Attorney 

If you’ve been injured by a negligent company, call the Miami personal injury attorneys at the office of Alan Goldfarb, P.A. today to schedule a free consultation and learn more about how we can recover damages related to medical expenses, lost wages, and reduced quality of life.

Resource:

local10.com/news/local/2020/11/23/lawsuit-filed-against-publix-after-miami-beach-employee-dies-from-coronavirus/

https://www.goldfarbpa.com/judge-allows-tourist-to-seek-punitive-damages-in-water-slide-injury/

Fifty-one-year-old Wando Evans told managers that he was sick, but managers “ignored” him. Evans was sent home from work on March 23 and later died of complications related to the virus.

Evans’ family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Walmart alleging that it knew that Evans (in addition to other employees) were showing symptoms of the virus. Another man who worked at the same store died on March 29.

Walmart expressed regret over the passing of two of its associates and issued a statement related to the safety measures that they had put in place to comply with CDC guidelines.

The Case Against Walmart

The lawsuit alleges that Walmart failed to put in place safety guidelines that could have prevented the man’s death. These include failing to enforce social distancing, failing to properly and thoroughly clean the store, and failing to provide protective gear such as gloves and masks.

In response, Walmart had a third-party deep clean and sanitize the store after the employees died. Walmart said it also increased safety measures, adding sneeze guards to cash registers, and allowing the health department in to inspect the store.

Understanding This Lawsuit

The family has a problem. Even though Walmart was probably negligent, since Evans was on the job at the time he died, the family may only be entitled to death benefits via workers’ compensation. Typically, employers enjoy broadscale immunity to lawsuits filed by employees in exchange for the no-fault system provided by workers’ compensation. Illinois is among those states that require all employers (with very few exceptions) provide workers’ compensation to their employees.

An attorney for the family said that he tried to file a claim for burial expenses with Walmart but never received a phone call. If the workers’ compensation death benefit policy doesn’t apply to this worker, then their family may be able to file a lawsuit directly against Walmart. Walmart would want to avoid that since payments in personal injury suits are much higher than payments in death benefits claims. So this lawsuit may be a way to put pressure on Walmart to satisfy the death benefit claim or risk steeper consequences in court.

Walmart will attempt to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds of employer immunity, but we won’t know how that plays out until the quarantine has been lifted.

Talk to a Miami Personal Injury Attorney

If you’ve been injured due to the negligence of another person, call the Miami personal injury attorneys at the office of Alan Goldfarb, P.A. today to schedule a free consultation. We have helped hundreds of injured parties successfully file lawsuits against negligent companies. Call today to learn more.

Resource:

cnbc.com/2020/04/06/coronavirus-walmart-employees-family-files-wrongful-death-lawsuit.html

https://www.goldfarbpa.com/the-coronavirus-lawsuits-against-princess-cruises/