Legal risks for businesses that permit COVID spread

Peter Vogel is an Australian lawyer with an interest in the civil law ramifications and responsibility for COVID spread.

He recently wrote on X:

“The recent reports of C19 acquired in Australian hospitals reminded me that the successful Ruby Princess (plague cruise) lawsuit last year flew under the radar but is hugely significant. It illustrates that any commercial enterprise can be sued under consumer laws if they don't make a reasonable attempt to offer their services safely. The judgement (over 1,000 paragraphs) is here.

Read the discussion of “Failure to implement reasonable precautions” which starts at par [788]. You will be surprised to see how seriously the court considered the science.

I have summarised the case and its ramifications here.

TL;DR: Any commercial enterprise can be sued under Australian consumer law if they don't make a reasonable attempt to offer their services safely and anyone involved in the failure – including advisors and policy makers – is arguably liable as an accessory.”