Georgia’s Covid-19 Shield Law Bars Hospital Malpractice Suit

A Georgia hospital is immune from a medical malpractice suit alleging that its staff’s inattentiveness led to a Covid-19 patient’s loss of his leg, a divided state appeals court said.

The trial court should have dismissed Gregory Turner’s lawsuit against Kennestone Hospital Inc. under a Georgia law that shields health-care facilities and providers from liability in suits involving Covid-19, the Georgia Court of Appeals said March 14. Turner didn’t properly allege that he was eligible for an exception to the shield law based on the facility’s “gross” negligence, it said.

Most states adopted provisions protecting health-care entities from liability during ...