Vaccines are a positive development in the fight against COVID-19, however healthcare providers are still at risk for excessive litigation due to the time it may take to vaccinate Missouri residents, according to a hospital trade association.
“Treatments have improved significantly and vaccines are beginning to circulate,” Missouri Hospital Association (MHA) spokesman Dave Dillon said. “All of that is very promising. However, we have a long way to go to. It is increasingly clear that vaccination of a significant majority of Missourians or Americans will take much of 2021. That means we’re likely to continue to experience a lot of COVID-19 related care and the disease’s after-effects throughout this year and ongoing."
As of Jan. 4, 428,000 coronavirus cases were reported statewide resulting in 5,932 fatalities, according to Missouri’s COVID-19 dashboard.
“We have supported the establishment of protections for health care workers and organizations as the pandemic unfolded, and continue to advocate for these protections,” Dillon told the St. Louis Record. “There have been bills on the state and federal level but thus far — given the very different scenario for lawmakers at all levels since early in 2020 — have yet to have a bill adopted.”
As previously reported, COVID liability protection for businesses was tabled in December for January 2021 after Gov. Mike Parson cleared it from the special session agenda without voting on it.
“The 2020 Missouri General Assembly was truncated and refocused to enact only a handful of necessary legislation," Dillon said. "While a COVID-19 call was added to the special session, the call was retracted as other legislation moved slower than expected limiting time for additional issues. MHA and our hospital support additional work on liability protections in 2021."
Two bills have since been filed on COVID liability protections. They include SB 42, which was introduced by Sen. Bill White (R-Joplin), and SB 51 introduced by Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (R-Parkville).
“While legislation could cover hospitals, most of the efforts are of much broader scope than health care liability,” Dillon said. “Moreover, it is seldom clear this early what bills will ultimately end up as vehicles for legislation or what the final legislation might look like if it makes it through the process.”
If approved, SB 51 would provide protection from pandemic-related lawsuits while SB 42 would hold a health care provider accountable for damages during a coronavirus emergency when a patient experiences a serious injury as a result of malicious misconduct or conduct that intentionally caused damage to the plaintiff.
“The nation is in a very different place than it was in February and March,” Dillon said. “One would hope that they would significantly reduce the overall population of individuals who contract the illness and the long term harm as the rate increases,”