Late on June 26, the Georgia General Assembly passed the Georgia COVID-19 Pandemic Business Safety Act, which provides liability protections to businesses throughout Georgia. The bill provides a heightened standard of gross negligence for three types of claims:

  1. Claims for transmission of COVID-19,
  2. Claims for medical malpractice related to COVID-19, and
  3. Claims against manufacturers of personal protective equipment (PPE).

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the constantly evolving landscape of public health guidelines, there was rare agreement between trial lawyers, members of the business and health care community and legislators that action should be taken to protect Georgia’s health care providers and business owners from frivolous lawsuits. House Special Committee on Access to the Civil Justice System Chairman Trey Kelley (R-Cedartown) worked tirelessly with stakeholders to reach consensus to provide heightened liability protections while preserving the rights of truly injured parties to bring suit.