On July 7, 2021, Missouri Governor Mike Parson signed into law a COVID-19 liability bill (Senate Bill 51). The law, which becomes effective on August 28, 2021, is intended to provide protections to Missouri businesses, the health care industry, religious organizations and others for liability under three types of COVID-19 related causes of action: COVID-19 exposure actions, COVID-19 medical liability actions, and COVID-19 products liability actions.
The law preempts and supersedes any state, local, or common law causes of actions for damages arising from these COVID-19 related actions and permits plaintiffs to recover punitive damages not exceeding nine times the amount of compensatory damages awarded. While providing injured persons with an avenue for recovery, the law generally protects and limits liability to businesses and health care providers by requiring plaintiffs to prove a heightened standard of conduct – recklessness or willful misconduct – to maintain the action and limiting liability even further for religious organizations. Read this alert for what you need to know about each COVID-19 related cause of action. READ MORE HERE!
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