TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida's government took a step Monday toward protecting businesses and health care providers from lawsuits related to the coronavirus.
“You look at some of these things that haven’t been happening as much and I think part of the reason is because there’s a fear of liability that, okay – if ya have one of these events are you gonna end up having to battle lawsuits," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday ahead of signing CS/SB 72 into law.
The legislation lays out new requirements for civil action when it comes to COVID-related claims. It also puts the burden of proof on the plaintiffs and requires that civil claims regarding the virus occur within a specified timeline.
Among the requirements, a plaintiff submitting a lawsuit must also provide an affidavit signed by a doctor attesting "within a reasonable degree of medical certainty" that the COVID-19 related damages, injuries or deaths were a direct result of the business or health care provider's acts or omissions.
And, the plaintiff must be able to show "clear and convincing evidence" of "gross negligence" by the entity being sued – a fairly high legal bar.
The governor said he was signing the "COVID liability protection bill" because he does not want there to be a situation where people are afraid of being sued for doing "normal things."
“I hope that this will provide some certainty for folks," he added.
The bill took effect Monday immediately after the governor put pen to paper.
“What this bill does—is says if you’re doing the right things you’re protected. You’re protected and you have the most aggressive protection in America," Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls said.
Sprowls adds that businesses doing the "wrong things" are not protected under the legislation.
“I think the message is, you know, we want folks to be able to live their lives, provide opportunities for people to do different things and then let individuals make the decisions about what they want to do," DeSantis said.
You can watch the bill signing below.
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