<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The coronavirus or <a href="https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/685d0ace521648f8a5beeeee1b9125cd"><span class="s2">COVID-19</span></a> is spreading rapidly throughout the world. It started in China towards the latter part of January 2020, and the global numbers have steadily grown with the current figures at 207,860 cases and 8,657 deaths. The World Health Organization has declared it a global pandemic. The world’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_stock_market_crash"><span class="s2">stock markets</span></a> have plunged to levels not seen before. The worldwide crash began on February 20, 2020 with continued levels of widespread volatility.</span></p>
<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 3.0.1 -->
<div class="quads-location quads-ad135805 " id="quads-ad135805" style="float:none;text-align:center;padding:0px 0 0px 0;" data-lazydelay="3000">

</div>

<p class="p1"><span class="s1">And, all of the world&#8217;s governments are implementing harsh measures that are designed to prevent this virus&#8217;s rapid spread. One of the prescribed prevention tactics is that of social distancing. Large parts of countries like Spain and Italy are forcibly being locked down with inhabitants confined to their homes unless they need to venture out to buy food or for medical treatment. Schools and universities, and most non-essential businesses have closed for up to four weeks. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The biggest challenge to effectively fighting this virus is that it can be carried by people whose symptoms are asymptomatic. In essence, they are not sick, so they don&#8217;t know that they are carriers of the virus and spread it to everyone they come into contact with.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Thus, the question that begs is: Can these people be held liable for transmitting the virus according to the Personal Injury Law? </span></p>
<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 3.0.1 -->
<div class="quads-location quads-ad135804 " id="quads-ad135804" style="float:none;text-align:center;padding:0px 0 0px 0;" data-lazydelay="3000">

</div>

<p class="p1"><span class="s1">At this juncture, it must be noted that the world’s population is in new territory and no one really knows what will happen in the future. Thus, it must be emphasized that this is nothing more than a theoretical discussion. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>How are culpability and liability determined?</b></span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">According to <a href="https://naqvilaw.com/"><span class="s2">Naqvi Law</span></a>, most motor vehicle accidents occur because someone, a driver, passenger, pedestrian, was careless. Thus, the determinization of legal liability is based on whether the one person was less careful than the rest of the people involved in the accident. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The same principle should apply to the unintentional transmission of a virus like HIV/AIDs or COVID-19. However, no one really knows as this scenario has not yet been tested in a court of law. </span></p>
<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 3.0.1 -->
<div class="quads-location quads-ad135804 " id="quads-ad135804" style="float:none;text-align:center;padding:0px 0 0px 0;" data-lazydelay="3000">

</div>

<p class="p1"><span class="s1">There are examples of cases in the 1980s where it was determined that a HIV carrier was held liable for the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5218970/"><span class="s2">transmission of the HIV virus</span></a>. As an aside, HIV transmission has now been decimalized. But, it one stage it was a criminal offense to knowingly carry out acts that the other parties involved ran the risk of being infected with the virus. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">While criminal liability is not linked to civil liability, criminal liability will open the doors for civil personal injury claims. Thus, if fact that the virus is knowingly transferred to another person can be proven in both the civil court, personal injury claims can be filed against the guilty party. However, this is only possible if legal liability can be proven. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>The way forward</b></span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Thus, at this juncture, the best way to get through these tough times, is to self-isolate, listen to the local authorities, and speak to a medical professional if you start experiencing the common coronavirus symptoms. </span></p>
<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 3.0.1 -->
<div class="quads-location quads-ad135804 " id="quads-ad135804" style="float:none;text-align:center;padding:0px 0 0px 0;" data-lazydelay="3000">

</div>

</p>
<div class="essb_links essb_counter_modern_right essb_displayed_bottom essb_share essb_template_default4-retina essb_852912191 print-no" id="essb_displayed_bottom_852912191" data-essb-postid="135614" data-essb-position="bottom" data-essb-button-style="button" data-essb-template="default4-retina" data-essb-counter-pos="right" data-essb-url="https://www.explosion.com/135614/can-you-be-held-liable-for-unintentionally-transmitting-hiv-aids-or-covid-19-to-other-people/" data-essb-fullurl="https://www.explosion.com/135614/can-you-be-held-liable-for-unintentionally-transmitting-hiv-aids-or-covid-19-to-other-people/" data-essb-instance="852912191"><ul class="essb_links_list"><li class="essb_item essb_link_facebook nolightbox essb_link_svg_icon"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.explosion.com%2F135614%2Fcan-you-be-held-liable-for-unintentionally-transmitting-hiv-aids-or-covid-19-to-other-people%2F&t=Can+You+be+Held+Liable+for+Unintentionally+Transmitting+HIV%2FAIDS+or+COVID-19+to+other+people%3F" title="Share on Share" onclick="essb.window(&#39;https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.explosion.com%2F135614%2Fcan-you-be-held-liable-for-unintentionally-transmitting-hiv-aids-or-covid-19-to-other-people%2F&t=Can+You+be+Held+Liable+for+Unintentionally+Transmitting+HIV%2FAIDS+or+COVID-19+to+other+people%3F&#39;,&#39;facebook&#39;,&#39;852912191&#39;); return false;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="nolightbox essb-s-bg-facebook essb-s-c-light essb-s-ch-light essb-s-bgh-dark essb-s-bg-network" ><span class="essb_icon essb_icon_facebook"><svg class="essb-svg-icon essb-svg-icon-facebook" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="16" height="16" viewBox="0 0 16 16"><path d="M16 8.049c0-4.446-3.582-8.05-8-8.05C3.58 0-.002 3.603-.002 8.05c0 4.017 2.926 7.347 6.75 7.951v-5.625h-2.03V8.05H6.75V6.275c0-2.017 1.195-3.131 3.022-3.131.876 0 1.791.157 1.791.157v1.98h-1.009c-.993 0-1.303.621-1.303 1.258v1.51h2.218l-.354 2.326H9.25V16c3.824-.604 6.75-3.934 6.75-7.951"></path></svg></span><span class="essb_network_name">Share</span></a></li><li class="essb_item essb_link_twitter nolightbox essb_link_twitter_x essb_link_svg_icon"> <a href="https://x.com/intent/post?text=Can%20You%20be%20Held%20Liable%20for%20Unintentionally%20Transmitting%20HIV%2FAIDS%20or%20COVID-19%20to%20other%20people%3F&;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.explosion.com%2F135614%2Fcan-you-be-held-liable-for-unintentionally-transmitting-hiv-aids-or-covid-19-to-other-people%2F" title="Share on Tweet" onclick="essb.window(&#39;https://x.com/intent/post?text=Can%20You%20be%20Held%20Liable%20for%20Unintentionally%20Transmitting%20HIV%2FAIDS%20or%20COVID-19%20to%20other%20people%3F&;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.explosion.com%2F135614%2Fcan-you-be-held-liable-for-unintentionally-transmitting-hiv-aids-or-covid-19-to-other-people%2F&#39;,&#39;twitter&#39;,&#39;852912191&#39;); return false;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="nolightbox essb-s-bg-twitter essb-s-c-light essb-s-ch-light essb-s-bgh-dark essb-s-bg-network" ><span class="essb_icon essb_icon_twitter_x"><svg class="essb-svg-icon essb-svg-icon-twitter_x" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M18.244 2.25h3.308l-7.227 8.26 8.502 11.24H16.17l-5.214-6.817L4.99 21.75H1.68l7.73-8.835L1.254 2.25H8.08l4.713 6.231zm-1.161 17.52h1.833L7.084 4.126H5.117z"></path></svg></span><span class="essb_network_name">Tweet</span></a></li><li class="essb_item essb_link_pinterest nolightbox essb_link_svg_icon"> <a href="#" title="Share on Pin It" onclick="essb.pinterest_picker(&#39;852912191&#39;); return false;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="nolightbox essb-s-bg-pinterest essb-s-c-light essb-s-ch-light essb-s-bgh-dark essb-s-bg-network" ><span class="essb_icon essb_icon_pinterest"><svg class="essb-svg-icon essb-svg-icon-pinterest" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" width="32" height="32" viewBox="0 0 32 32" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M10.625 12.25c0-1.375 0.313-2.5 1.063-3.438 0.688-0.938 1.563-1.438 2.563-1.438 0.813 0 1.438 0.25 1.875 0.813s0.688 1.25 0.688 2.063c0 0.5-0.125 1.125-0.313 1.813-0.188 0.75-0.375 1.625-0.688 2.563-0.313 1-0.563 1.75-0.688 2.313-0.25 1-0.063 1.875 0.563 2.625 0.625 0.688 1.438 1.063 2.438 1.063 1.75 0 3.188-1 4.313-2.938 1.125-2 1.688-4.375 1.688-7.188 0-2.125-0.688-3.875-2.063-5.25-1.375-1.313-3.313-2-5.813-2-2.813 0-5.063 0.875-6.75 2.688-1.75 1.75-2.625 3.875-2.625 6.375 0 1.5 0.438 2.75 1.25 3.75 0.313 0.313 0.375 0.688 0.313 1.063-0.125 0.313-0.25 0.813-0.375 1.5-0.063 0.25-0.188 0.438-0.375 0.5s-0.375 0.063-0.563 0c-1.313-0.563-2.25-1.438-2.938-2.75s-1-2.813-1-4.5c0-1.125 0.188-2.188 0.563-3.313s0.875-2.188 1.625-3.188c0.75-1.063 1.688-1.938 2.688-2.75 1.063-0.813 2.313-1.438 3.875-1.938 1.5-0.438 3.125-0.688 4.813-0.688 1.813 0 3.438 0.313 4.938 0.938 1.5 0.563 2.813 1.375 3.813 2.375 1.063 1.063 1.813 2.188 2.438 3.5 0.563 1.313 0.875 2.688 0.875 4.063 0 3.75-0.938 6.875-2.875 9.313-1.938 2.5-4.375 3.688-7.375 3.688-1 0-1.938-0.188-2.813-0.688-0.875-0.438-1.5-1-1.875-1.688-0.688 2.938-1.125 4.688-1.313 5.25-0.375 1.438-1.25 3.188-2.688 5.25h-1.313c-0.25-2.563-0.188-4.688 0.188-6.375l2.438-10.313c-0.375-0.813-0.563-1.813-0.563-3.063z"></path></svg></span><span class="essb_network_name">Pin It</span></a></li><li class="essb_item essb_link_mail nolightbox essb_link_svg_icon"> <a href="#" title="Share on Email" onclick="essb_open_mailform(&#39;852912191&#39;); return false;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="nolightbox essb-s-bg-mail essb-s-c-light essb-s-ch-light essb-s-bgh-dark essb-s-bg-network" ><span class="essb_icon essb_icon_mail"><svg class="essb-svg-icon essb-svg-icon-mail" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" width="32" height="32" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 60 60"><polygon points="60,50.234 60,9.944 39.482,30.536 " /><polygon points="0,9.941 0,50.234 20.519,30.535 " /><path d="M1.387,8.5l21.002,21.08c0.121,0.051,0.471,0.415,0.517,0.519l5.941,5.963c0.635,0.591,1.672,0.59,2.333-0.025l5.911-5.933c0.046-0.105,0.4-0.473,0.522-0.524L58.615,8.5H1.387z" /><path d="M38.07,31.954l-5.5,5.52c-0.73,0.68-1.657,1.019-2.58,1.019c-0.914,0-1.823-0.332-2.533-0.993l-5.526-5.546L1.569,51.5h56.862L38.07,31.954z" /></svg></span><span class="essb_network_name">Email</span></a></li></ul></div>
0 Comments