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Immunity for COVID-19 Claims in Georgia

6/16/20

By: Jake Daly

Following a three-month layoff due to COVID-19, the Georgia General Assembly reconvened on June 15 to complete its business for the 2020 session. With only ten legislative days remaining as of June 15, 2020, there is limited time to deal with new and old priorities. One of the new priorities is a bill providing immunity for businesses and healthcare providers that are sued by employees, customers, visitors, and patients who contract COVID-19.

HB 216 was introduced in the House in 2019 to create a specialty license plate honoring the Georgia Tennis Foundation. The House passed it on March 10, 2020, and it was referred to the Senate Committee on Public Safety where it was amended to become the Georgia Pandemic Business Immunity Act. This committee passed the amended version of HB 216 on June 15, 2020. The bill still needs approval by the full Senate and the House before it can be signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp.

HB 216 is designed to (1) ensure that society’s constitutional freedoms are adequately protected while allowing citizens and businesses to return to some sense of normality without fear of civil liability that may arise from risks that nobody can fully control, (2) allow the citizens of Georgia to focus on rebuilding the state’s damaged economy without being burdened by the costs of crippling litigation, (3) allow businesses to continue to obtain access to affordable insurance coverage for their operations, and (4) allow the state and local governments to raise the revenue needed to provide critical services to their citizens.

If enacted, HB 216 would create a new code section, O.C.G.A. § 51-1-56, which would apply only to claims that arise after its effective date and on or before June 30, 2022. (The end date is two years after Governor Kemp’s last executive order declaring a state of emergency due to COVID-19 expires. Governor Kemp’s current executive order expires on June 30, 2020.) The key provisions of HB 216 are:

  • All persons would be immune from any civil liability for damages arising from exposure to or contraction of COVID-19 by another while on their premises. Note that the term “person” is defined broadly to include natural people, businesses, property owners’ associations, charitable organizations, and state and local governments and their departments and officials. Also, the term “premises” is defined broadly to include residential, commercial, agricultural, and industrial property that is owned, occupied, leased, operated, maintained, or managed by a “person.”
  • All healthcare providers and facilities would be immune from any civil liability for injury or death allegedly caused by the provider’s or the facility’s good-faith acts or omissions while providing healthcare services related to COVID-19.
  • There would be no immunity for conduct that constitutes gross negligence, willful and wanton misconduct, reckless infliction of harm, or intentional infliction of harm.
  • Punitive damages could not be recovered in any case involving exposure to or contraction of COVID-19.

Stay tuned for further updates as HB 216 winds its way through the General Assembly.

If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Jake Daly at jdaly@fmglaw.com.

Additional Information:

FMG has formed a Coronavirus Task Force to provide up-to-the-minute information, strategic advice, and practical solutions for our clients. Our group is an interdisciplinary team of attorneys who can address the multitude of legal issues arising out of the coronavirus pandemic, including issues related to Healthcare, Product Liability, Tort Liability, Data Privacy, and Cyber and Local Governments. For more information about the Task Force, click here.

You can also contact your FMG relationship partner or email the team with any questions at coronavirustaskforce@fmglaw.com.

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