After Contracting COVID-19 from a Houston Healthcare Facility

More than 1.4 million Americans have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus so far, and the number of confirmed cases continues to rise every day as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on. Healthcare workers have been hit especially hard, since doctors and nurses are forced to come into contact with COVID-19 patients every day—and since personal protective equipment shortages are rampant. If you contracted COVID-19 at a healthcare facility in Houston where you were seeking treatment for another condition—or where you work as an employee—you should know that you may have grounds for a Houston COVID-19 claim. If you’re unsure where to begin with your claim, our Houston injury lawyers are here to give you more information about steps you can take after contracting COVID-19 from a Houston healthcare facility. Read on to learn more from our experts.

There is a lot of confusion surrounding legal liability regarding COVID-19 right now, because we are in uncharted territory with this new disease. However, healthcare workers and healthcare unions across the country are beginning to file lawsuits against their negligent employers after contracting the illness due to an unsafe environment.

Employers have a legal duty of care to protect their employees and ensure that they are safe from injury and illness. For healthcare professions, this means providing employees with necessary proper protective equipment (PPE), following the latest CDC guidelines, and more.

However, many hospitals are requiring their employees to work without proper PPE due to shortages. And some hospitals are even penalizing workers for bringing their own masks to work. Such actions may very well result in hospital workers contracting coronavirus, and may legally be seen as negligence. If you were forced to work with coronavirus patients without proper PPE, it is in your best interests to consult a lawyer as soon as possible.

Other examples of healthcare facility negligence and/or wrongdoing during the pandemic include:

• Forcing healthcare workers to share or reuse PPE
• Retaliatory firings of workers who speak up about unsafe work conditions
• Forcing workers to remove homemade masks or masks brought from home
• Failure to implement infection control protocol in a timely manner to protect workers and patients from infection
• Requiring symptomatic employees to return to work too early
• Forcing sick employees to use their own paid time off rather than providing sick leave
• Failing to isolate infected patients
• And more

Here at Carabin Shaw, our attorneys have more than 200 years of combined legal experience, and our firm been helping victims of negligence for more than two decades. We’re passionate about defending the legal rights of victims, and we want to give you the legal guidance you need in these difficult times. If you are unsure whether or not you may have grounds for a Houston COVID-19 claim, you should know that your first consultation with an attorney is entirely free—so you have nothing to lose by giving our team a call and discussing your options. We can help you determine whether or not you should pursue legal action and can inform you of your legal rights in your unique situation.

To schedule your free consultation with a knowledgeable, compassionate attorney, call our Carabin Shaw office serving Houston at 713-654-9991. Don’t wait—let our Houston injury lawyers help you get the justice you deserve after contracting COVID-19 from a Houston healthcare facility.