Thirty-eight states have enacted emergency orders or laws intended to immunize companies and individuals for care related to the pandemic, according to a tally compiled National Consumer Voice, a nonprofit watchdog organization focused on nursing homes, the Washington Post reported. The public conversation in most of the states was that hospitals, doctors, and long term care facilities should not be held legally responsible for COVID-19 infections and deaths in a viral pandemic that overwhelmed medical systems and long-term care centers. In nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, at least 185,000 people have died of COVID-19 infections, according to the nonprofit, nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. What’s new in North Carolina is that it’s the first state where immunity claims are being cited in court by facilities to defend themselves against cases that are not related to COVID-19 infection and treatment. Such arguments could be more common. Just three of the 38 states with pandemic immunity laws specifically restrict the protections to COVID-19 exposure or infection, according to the survey by National Consumer Voice. The rest of the states have broader language that could cover most forms of harm experienced by patients and residents during the pandemic, according to the organization. North Carolina’s law says immunity applies to the delivery of care “directly or indirectly” impacted by the pandemic. Most of the states have exceptions for acts of “gross negligence” or those in a lack of good faith, higher standards than the usual negligence allegations that are found in nursing home lawsuits over issues like bed sores, falls, dehydration, choking, undiagnosed or untreated infections, and medication errors.
