Fox Wilmington – GOP rep introducing bill to expose China to potential US litigation on coronavirus
Rep. Jason Gooden, R-Texas, is introducing a bill Friday targeting China over the coronavirus outbreak that would open it up to potential litigation in American courts if the country is found to have “manufactured” the virus.
The bill, called the Stop COVID Act, would amend the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) to state that other countries “shall not be immune from the jurisdiction of the courts of the United States in any case where such foreign state is found, whether intentionally or unintentionally, to have discharged a biological weapon … in the United States or such discharge results in the bodily injury of [a] United States citizen.”
China has not been found, despite unsubstantiated speculation, to have intentionally developed the novel coronavirus. Evidence indicates that the virus initially transmitted to humans from an animal at a wet market in Wuhan, China, before it began transmitting between humans, triggering the current pandemic.
About The Author
Russell Berman
Russell Berman is a native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He graduated from the University of Miami School of Business with majors in Finance and Business Law, and a Minor in Real Estate (B.A. December 2000). Mr. Berman received his Juris Doctor in May 2003 from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, five years after graduating from high school. Mr. Berman focuses his practice in the areas of personal injury and personal injury protection claims, and he has successfully litigated and managed thousands of claims, recovering millions of dollars in personal injury protection benefits afforded by Automobile Insurance Policies, Medical Doctors, Doctors of Chiropractic, MRI facilities, Orthopedists, and Licensed Massage Therapists.