Limitation of Liability During the Coronavirus Pandemic
“In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, state and federal authorities have recognized a need for as many trained, experienced, and qualified health care providers as possible. To ensure those providers are fully enabled to provide critical care in response to COVID-19, several laws limit the tort liability of health care providers providing services in response to COVID-19,” writes Jeremy Belanger and Mark Wilson in Dickinson Wright’s Health Law Blog.
“Under Section 7 of Executive Order 2020-30, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer used the Emergency Management Act, MCL 30.401 et seq., to limit the liability of health care professionals to provide care. Specifically, the Order provides: [A]ny licensed health care professional or designated health care facility that provides medical services in support of this state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic is not liable for an injury sustained by a person by reason of those services, regardless of how or under what circumstances or by what cause those injuries are sustained.”
