The responsibilities derived from COVID-19

January 14 , 2021 // Legal Reforms and Debate

Published in Legal Today

COVID-19 has given rise to a humanitarian and economic crisis worldwide, which reminds us of such disastrous situations as the consequences of the so-called Spanish flu, at the end of the First World War, the great depression of the 1930s. or the disaster that occurred after World War II. It is true that the economic situation and, above all, health, is not the same as a century ago and therefore its effects will not be as harmful as in those past years. Of course, the worst has been and continues to be the loss of human life and the consequences that this pandemic is leaving on the people who have suffered it. After the personal injuries, which we could call direct, COVID-19 is having a serious impact on the world economy that will undoubtedly lead to social problems of various kinds, such as unemployment, famines, poverty or revolutions. In short, a social setback that will have global consequences, although it will hit the poorest and most vulnerable countries to a greater extent, also causing other indirect personal damage. Descending a little more to the object of this work, The responsibilities derived from COVID-19, we must say that everything indicates that in the coming months many lawsuits for damages to people and property will be filed. For these purposes, about who should answer for these damages, we can ask ourselves many questions, such as: should the victims bear the damages because it is a case of force majeure? Should employers be responsible for damages caused to their workers or third parties? Should the State Administration be the one that should compensate those injured for not having been cautious and not having taken measures when it should have? Should the Autonomous Administration, with competences in health, take over for not having adequately organized the available means?