After offices and other places of business reopen following COVID-19 shutdowns, tenants and owners face increased legal liability, and property insurance plans may not cover this risk.
If an employee or guest contracts the disease, the prospect of a lawsuit puts companies and property owners at risk. Though most re-openings come with stringent measures to protect the health of workers and visitors, those actions may not be enough to protect a company from liability if someone catches COVID-19 within their property.
Companies have to follow the necessary guidelines to safeguard their buildings from COVID-19 transmission, but they also must ensure compliance with those measures, a lawyer interviewed by GlobeSt advises. Plaintiffs would not necessarily have a difficult time proving that they were infected at a particular location.
The prevalence of mobile devices, private security cameras, and other tracking and tracing methods, there could be enough data to determine who was within six feet of an infected person. If businesses adhere to guidelines to prevent disease transmission, though, they stand a much better chance of prevailing in court.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | May 29, 2020
AIA releases new, updated sustainable project documents
Streamlined sustainable design and construction process included.
Codes and Standards | May 28, 2020
USGBC outlines how it will support pandemic recovery efforts
Includes emergency guidance and upgrades to the LEED green building program.
Codes and Standards | May 27, 2020
Office market could be COVID-19 casualty
As companies get used to work at home, post-pandemic office market could collapse.
Codes and Standards | May 26, 2020
Architectural Reuse Council will step up efforts to reuse construction waste
Cabinets, appliances, lighting, and lumber diverted from landfills to be repurposed.
Codes and Standards | May 26, 2020
Is CLT really a green solution?
Sustainability depends upon forest stewardship, product manufacturing process.
Codes and Standards | May 20, 2020
St. Louis is first Midwest city to pass building energy performance standard
Allows owners broad flexibility on how to achieve goals.
Codes and Standards | May 20, 2020
Supreme Court says Georgia cannot copyright its entire official code
Ruling may have implications for other states claiming copyright for building codes.
Codes and Standards | May 18, 2020
Strategies to reduce personal contact in multifamily properties
Design can improve health amid COVID-19 pandemic.
Codes and Standards | May 18, 2020
Canada Green Building Council says building industry lacks zero-carbon skills, knowledge
Net-zero target requires shift in thinking and practices.
Codes and Standards | May 18, 2020
California’s grid can support all-electric buildings
Load-shifting will help reduce peak demand.
