Ron DeSantis signs bill protecting Florida businesses and healthcare centers from ‘frivolous COVID-19’ lawsuits



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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a bill to protect Florida businesses and health centers from coronavirus lawsuits.

SB 72 specifies the requirements for lawsuits alleging damage related to the virus and “will deter unfounded lawsuits against individuals, businesses, health care providers and other entities while allowing for prosecutions deemed credible.”

“Today, I was happy to sign SB 72 to protect Florida businesses and healthcare providers from frivolous COVID-19 lawsuits,” the Republican governor, who has been one of the first state leaders to fully open their state amid the pandemic, leaving regulatory decisions in place. to local leaders and individual entities, tweeted Monday.

He added that the legislation “protects the livelihoods of Floridians.”

The law notes that healthcare workers “must be able to remain focused on meeting the healthcare needs of their respective communities and not on the potential for unfounded prosecution.”

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Similar language in the bill, supported by the Florida Chamber of Commerce, applies to businesses and other entities. The legislation adds that while some legal actions “may seem reasonable” in the midst of COVID-19, people “may attempt to interpret those actions differently in hindsight when calm is restored.”

“One of our main priorities since the first day of the pandemic, with your signature, [Florida]Job creators no longer have to fear frivolous lawsuits as we continue to relaunch [Flordia]The State Chamber of Commerce tweeted on Monday.

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Under SB 72, Floridians cannot sue businesses, health, or government entities if a judge determines that the facility has made “a good faith effort to substantially comply with official health standards or government issued checks ”at the time of a suspected incident.

A family walks past Cinderella's Castle in the Magic Kingdom, at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Joe Burbank / Orlando Sentinel via AP, FILE)

A family walks past Cinderella’s Castle in the Magic Kingdom, at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Joe Burbank / Orlando Sentinel via AP, FILE)

These lawsuits will also need to present affidavits signed by doctors directly linking the damage related to COVID-19 to specific entities. Complaints must be filed within one year of the incident occurring.

Democrats opposed the measures, saying they would deny access to courts to people who have been damaged by the disease or whose loved ones have died from the coronavirus. They said the wording of the bill and the need to prove gross negligence will make it difficult to present a case.

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Desantis also announced Monday that companies are not required to require customers to present COVID-19 vaccine passports upon entry or before receiving certain services, citing privacy concerns.

“It is completely unacceptable that the government or the private sector impose an obligation on you to present proof of vaccine just to be able to participate in normal society,” DeSantis said at a press conference on Monday, adding that such a measure have “enormous privacy implications”.

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President Biden’s administration is reportedly working on a way to standardize a process for Americans to prove their immunization status. New York State has already rolled out its own version of vaccine credentials.

“There is currently an interagency process that is looking at many issues around vaccine verification,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday in response to a question on passports, adding that the possibility of Vaccine verification “will be driven by the private sector” while the White House will focus more on “guidelines.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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