Law firm says infected Tasmanians may have legal options

A law firm working on a case against the owners of the Ruby Princess says there may be recourse for those affected by the COVID-19 outbreak in Tasmania’s North West.

A LAW firm working on action against the owners and operators of Ruby Princess has urged those who suffered as a result of the outbreak in Tasmania’s North-West to explore their legal options.

Shine Lawyers senior associate Catie Norman said the interim report by Tasmania’s Health Department identified many factors that contributed to the coronavirus outbreak.

The report found two Ruby Princess passengers treated at the North West Regional Hospital in March were the likely source of the outbreak, which has now claimed 11 lives in the region.

The nurses who treated those patients later became infected and passed it onto other staff and patients.

More than 140 of Tasmania’s 219 coronavirus cases have been linked to the outbreak which also affected the NW private hospital and the Mersey Community Hospital.

The deaths of local Ruby Princess passengers would form part of Shine Lawyers’ broader investigation against the ship’s owners.

“While now is not the time to be pointing fingers, patients and health workers who have suffered an injury as a result are well within their rights to explore their legal options,” Ms Norman said.

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“Doctors and nurses infected with coronavirus in the course of their employment are entitled to lodge a claim for compensation through WorkCover Tasmania.

“This would allow them to claw back basic expenses including medical treatment and lost income.

“Lawsuits are unlikely to arise unless those affected develop a permanent injury as a result of being infected.”

Ms Norman said while most people fully recover from COVID-19, experts were investigating the potential for lung scarring as well as damage to the heart and liver.

“If health workers develop a significant permanent injury as a result of contracting coronavirus, a lawsuit against their employer is possible,” she said.

“Lawyers would need to show the hospital or health department was negligent by failing to take reasonable care for the safety of employees.

“A claim of this type could result in damages ranging from pain and suffering to loss of amenities as well as past and future economic loss.

“In Tasmania, an employee can only bring a common law claim for damages if their permanent injury is assessed as being a 20 per cent or more whole person impairment.

“There is also the potential for public liability claims by patients at the hospital who may have contracted coronavirus while being treated for other conditions if the hospital was found to have failed to take reasonable care.”