The story about Governor Andrew Cuomo has been getting a little more press lately, but for those of us who followed it, this was all evident back at the beginning of the pandemic. In short, Cuomo ordered thousands of COVID-19 positive patients back into nursing homes, where as you would expect, the virus spread rampantly and killed many thousands of people. Beyond this, he also allowed the nursing home industry to cut many corners, virtually ensuring viral spread. Subsequently, to protect the nursing home industry from the legal liability that would ensue when thousands of people realized that their loved ones died because of their negligence, he passed a “liability shield” protecting nursing homes from liability (and which was written by the nursing home industry itself). In other words, if your family member died of COVID-19 in a nursing home, despite any negligence that might have occurred, you aren’t allowed to sue. To date, 26 other states have similarly turned Cuomo’s liability shield into law.
Read MoreThe United States is often seen (and often sees itself) as a highly litigious society, ready to launch frivolous lawsuits for any and every reason. And there is some truth to this. However, having lived most of my life in another country, I've come to a different conclusion. The United States is not litigious by its nature, but its litigiousness is the consequence of the complete and long-standing failure of its government.
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