Almost 800 Lawsuits Over Deaths, Safety And Canceled Events Filed

More than 770 lawsuits are piling up against hospitals, nursing homes, gyms, airlines and cruise lines in the U.S. due to the coronavirus, alleging various kinds of neglect or mistreatment, according to the U.K.’s Daily Mail.

At one nursing home, a lawsuit alleges that the home failed to protect residents from the virus by continuing to hold group events.

At a hospital, a nursing union says there was never adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) for workers dealing directly with the virus every day.

Around 250 lawsuits have been filed in New York, according to a database created by law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth, including both of the aforementioned examples, the Daily Mail reported.

Ticketmaster is facing down a class-action suit alleging that the company forced customers to bear the brunt of the near-universal cancellation of live events due to the pandemic, reportedly withholding funds from thousands of fans. Ticketmaster and its parent Live Nation didn’t have a comment on that as of Monday (May 4).

For airlines, the problems have revolved around the allegations that customers have been unable to retrieve funds from canceled flights. The airlines are looking at a need for billions of dollars in financial aid from the government in order to survive the shutdowns, which have seen the grounding of a majority of flights amid a necessity to stay indoors.

Meanwhile, a Los Angeles couple is alleging that Princess Cruises left them stranded on one of its cruise ships in Japan early during the pandemic. Attorneys for Farah and Mohammed Toutounchian allege that food brought to the couple was uncovered as the virus spread onboard.

Princess Cruises, in a statement, said its response had been focused on “the well-being of our guests and crew within the parameters dictated to us by the government agencies involved and the evolving medical understanding of this new illness.”

The virus has also wrought havoc on deals between companies for purchases, such as the Victoria’s Secret buyout by Sycamore Partners, which Sycamore wants out of due to Victoria’s Secret’s layoffs during the pandemic.