Five Floridian plaintiffs have filed a class action lawsuit challenging the Chinese governmentโs handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
The coronavirus class action lawsuit was filed by Logan Alters, Marta Reyes, Lawrence Wood, Stephen Clyne, and The Pitching Lab, also known as TBT Training.
The five plaintiffs argue that it was due, at least in part, to the Chinese governmentโs mishandling of the coronavirus outbreak that the issue turned into a worldwide pandemic.
They seek to represent two Classes of people affected by the outbreak โ a Class of all those in the United States affected by the outbreak, and a subclass of parties in Florida affected by the outbreak.
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None of the plaintiffs have caught the coronavirus, but according to the pandemic class action lawsuit, they were still injured by the outbreak.
The coronavirus class action claims that people throughout the state of Florida, and people throughout the country were injured even if they have not been infected. They say the virus has taken an economic toll on the United States, and has caused panic, emotional distress and other injuries throughout the country.
Specifically, the plaintiffs have filed claims against the Peopleโs Republic of China, the National Health Commission of the Peopleโs Republic of China, Ministry of Emergency Management of the Peopleโs Republic of China, the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the Peopleโs Republic of China, the Peopleโs Government of Hubei Province, and the Peopleโs Government of City of Wuhan, China.
These governmental bodies were reportedly in charge of overseeing the response to the coronavirus pandemic in China, and within the city of Wuhan in the Hubei Province, where the outbreak originated.ย
The Floridians note that it has not been confirmed how the outbreak spread to what it is today, but regardless, the Chinese government did not handle the issue correctly. They also claim that their actions allowed many people around the world to be affected.ย
The coronavirus class action lawsuit states that a new strain of the virus, known as COVID-19 originated in China in December 2019, and quickly spread throughout the world.ย
The Floridians present one theory alleging that COVID-19 spread from a bio-weapon lab and then into a nearby marketplace. Allegedly, there are only two bio-weapon labs in the Peopleโs Republic of China, and one of them is the National Biosafety Laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
According to the coronavirus pandemic class action lawsuit, this laboratory is close to the marketplace where COVID-19 originated. This laboratory is reportedly Chinaโs only โlevel 4โ microbiology lab, dealing with โthe deadliest of viruses.โ
The COVID-19 outbreak states that one theory is that COVID-19 escaped from the Wuhan lab because of lax security, or because Chinese researchers unlawfully sold lab animals to the marketplace nearby.
Researchers in China have allegedly been known to do this instead of cremating them, as is required by Chinese law.
No matter how the disease spread, the Florida residents argue the Chinese government did not respond appropriately to the outbreak.
Allegedly, the government put the safety of people around the world at risk, choosing instead to act โfrom their own self interestโ and to โprotect their place as a super-power.โ
The government did not report the outbreak as quickly as they could have, underreported cases, and did not contain the outbreak effectively, even though they knew how serious the outbreak was, the plaintiffs say.
Elaborating on these allegations, the Floridians argue that the Chinese government censored eight doctors on Jan. 1, 2020 from speaking about the outbreak and the danger associated with it. The coronavirus outbreak class action argues that even after the first person died of a COVID-19 infection on the same day, the government concealed the true dangers of the coronavirus.
The plaintiffs state that the Chinese government told the public the outbreak was under control. However, the government allegedly knew the virus was spread easily from human to human by Jan. 3 but concealed this information until Jan. 20, by which point the disease had already spread beyond China.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said he had taken measures to contain the virus on Jan. 7, but he reportedly lied in saying this, and did not take steps to contain the virus until later in the month.
Additionally, the Florida residents argue that the Chinese government waited 17 days to share the 19 genome sequence of coronavirus with peers around the world, after it had been discovered by Chinese researchers.
The plaintiffs claim that the Chinese government downplayed the severity of the virus by saying that deaths associated with coronavirus were instead caused by pneumonia.ย
The coronavirus response class action lawsuit says that this has caused injury to United States and potential Floridian Class Members not only in the form of infection by the virus, but in the form of fear, lost social contact, financial injury, emotional distress, and more.ย
The Class Members are represented by Matthew T. Moore and Vincent J. Duffy of The Law Offices of Berman & Berman PA.
The Coronavirus Outbreak Class Action Lawsuit is Logan Alters, et al. v. Peopleโs Republic of China, et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-21108-UU, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Miami Division.
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305 thoughts onCoronavirus Class Action Blames China for Pandemic
Iโm a 66 year old grandmother since the coronavirus erupted I have had headaches , panic attacks afraid to go get food, stressing over finances. I never once thought this was from someone eating bat soup this is so much worse then a common virus . Just think about this , the whole world is shut down , what does that tell you
people get viruses and recover from.I have a much bigger chance of catching and dieing from this.
Because of this pandemic I have been put out by all my healthcare providers indefinitely. My social worker, my mental health interview, my social services applications, assistance with getting a health plan for the herniated discs in my spineโ all stopped in their tracks. Iโve been rolling this boulder uphill and finally making some headway, especially with my mental health. This has kicked the boulder back on me causing incredible distress on top of EVERYTHING ELSE. My other doctors have cancelled and some have outright ignored me because theyโre busy and using protocol right now that includes not giving healthcare to anyone who doesnโt have the virus or who isnโt in absolute immediate danger. As they see it, anyway, but you canโt SEE mental illness can youโฆ
Money spent on preparing my home was supposed to be for insurance bills and soon rent, which I have already accrued overdraft fees by my bank trying to pay.
Weโll see what the suicide rate gets to by the end of this, assuming there is an end, and on behalf of everyone who will not make it through this by those means and for the people infected and left with permanent damage or who lost their lifeโฆ CHINA NEEDS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY and this is a damn good start.
Add me. I work around the public and a lot of truck drivers. And I am having panic attacks and fits of anxiety. Worried because grocery stores are out of everything I am not finding anything as I try to shop online. Iโve lost income because My boss wonโt pay me if I donโt come in but this is my first year at a small business where I have to pay taxes When I file a 1099 my self at the end of the year so I donโt even know if these stimulus packages will be helpful to me since I donโt show I am in the system as employed yet. Iโm scared it is going to get so much worse before it gets better. What good is the money if thereโs nothing to buy with it.
Iโm having anxiety attacks daily over this. My 12 year old is out of school. Husbands jobs making him work. Most likely bringing home germs. If I can find food at the stores, prices have been raised noticeably. Iโm a small business owner. Forced to close during this scare. Worried about my 7 grandbabies, 4 adult children. Cant sleep
My husband and i are both on social security disability. I receive my check on the 3rd wednesday and my husband on the 4th wednesday of the month. We struggle to buy groceries. We went to the grocery store we had to wait in a long line. The store finally opened and everyone ran to get the paper products and lysol. We cant seem to get any paper products or hand sanitizer or bread. Some food was left to purchase. We dont know what to do. We are disabled and cant walk very fast. There is no one to help us. Please contact me.
Please sign me up . The Whole World ( every Country , every Person ) other than China should take them on !!!!! Everything always starts in China I.e. SARS & now this . The Lawsuit should be not 1 or 2 Trillion Dollars but Tens if not Hundreds of Trillions !!!!! That is what โTHEYโ are costing ALL of us .
I am 67 yrs old with medical issues .Iโm devastated that we wasnโt told earlier . Iโm afraid to go out in public to get things i need . Thank God all my medical appointment were cancel ,even though I need to go. Iโm trying to stay calm ,itโs hard . Please sign me up or where to go to sign up . thank you
I Moved from Naples FL. (My residence) in December to seek a safer work environment in Montana for the next year as I thought this would hit Florida hard. I am now looking at being furloughed for over 2 months due to the mass hysteria caused by Chinaโs Communistic Government mishandling this outbreak. They knew as early as November what was going on yet didnโt take action until late January. Count me in on the lawsuit. China must pay for what they did to all of us all over the world.
I am currently upset because the grocery store were I live has raised prices so high that I am not able to keep food in my home! I get food stamps but for what I get is now not covering the groceries I need! I donโt understand how they get away with this! I am on low income and I feel like they are stealing from my pocket and I am upset that they are doing this! Why do they think this is ok???
Add me Erie county pa, health department let a person go after they took the test and admitted they messed up , iam full of stress and anxiety! I canโt get food either because the store shelves are empty