Personal injury cases revolve around some kind of wrongdoing. Someone must have done something wrong or broken some kind of rule and caused you harm in order to get money compensation. These rules are often found in statutes or other laws, but they can also be found in safety guidelines. If someone refuses or fails to follow safety guidelines and causes you harm, they are responsible for paying you money compensation for that harm.
Several agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services have issued safety guidelines to keep people safe during the Coronavirus pandemic. Therefore, if someone breaks these rules, and as a result you contract the virus, then that person is responsible for the harm.
For example, one of the safety guidelines says businesses should, “Disinfect surfaces like doorknobs, tables, desks, and handrails regularly”. If a business fails to clean up in this manner and as a result, you get sick from the virus, then that business should be responsible for the harms and damages it caused.
However, proving that you contracted the virus from any given source may be impossible. The virus is microscopic and can be anywhere. It is the person who’s seeking compensation to prove more likely than not he or she got the virus from a particular location. Although not as stringent as criminal law’s “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard, it still may not be possible to isolate where you got the virus.
Because of the difficulty proving where you got the Coronavirus, if you get sick you simply may not be able to get money compensation through a personal injury claim.