And Now, the Lawsuits

The fact of the matter is that despite the fact that he was INITIALLY told it was OK, once they told him he should stay put in Rome, he “cut and run” like a coward (as the GOP would say). He knew he was doing wrong because he tried to sneak through Canada. He obviously put these people through emotional hell so he should. And, as a lawyer, he’s got plenty to pay with.

He is a lawyer in the same field. No passengers will win any judgment. It is a statement. His Dad has a powerful firm, even if son is new at private practice. Between him and his Dad’s firm, they have the advantage. They seem to seek or enjoy intimidation. The entire tape scenerio was oddly intimidating.
But I think it will make a point that when the CDC comes to you, that is a big deal. Hello Mr Speaker. One should listen and not intimidate the messenger or twist their words. He was basically told not to go, and at least knew by the time he finished his first of MANY flights that it was a bad idea. He had enough money for that lavish overseas wedding and honeymoon. He could of waited in Italy if the cost was precluded. Between his familes and friends, he could not urge them to pool money in an emergency to wrangle a private transport back……… ridiculous. Then wait in Italy. He had many choices, the first was to not go at all. It was a trip for pleasure not to transport human organs to a hospital. It is about priorities and other people did not count to him, just pleasure.
He and his family, and certainly his in-laws are not idiots. the attitude with the tape and secretly recording the medical conversation and threatened the CDC from the get go. His entire stance was off from the beginning. Let em sue and stop his arrogance for authority. Maybe it will stop the media from treating him like a darling, when others should also be heard.Some of the coverage has been tawdry.
If he had or would show some sincere/long-term empathy, it would of helped.Stop the pictures of the wife in tears. Why not call up the families from the get go, their reactions from day 1 were to be on the defence. They would not listen to anyone except from w/in their circle. They made it worse.

Andrew Speaker deserves to be sued. He knew he had a contagious disease and put his own welfare above every man, woman and child on each of those planes – especially on the return trip when the CDC told him to stay put.
I hope Andrew Speaker is forced to pay through his nose for legal fees and other expenses. That may – just may – knock his arrogance level down a notch.

He deserves to be sued. Lawyers are especially aware of the duty not to harm others and what negligence, intentional and reckless harm is. According to what he has already said publicly, he KNEW he was risking the lives of others so he could save his own. That was his state of mind when he left Europe and flew to Canada. It is irrelevant if he is not rich, it is irrelevant if he hasn’t been practicing law for 10 years, it is irrelevant that other people are exposed to illnesses every day – what is relevant is that he was aware he had a deadly contagious disease, was told not to fly, he put other people at a deadly risk and he did it all to save his own butt.

To Daniel: It is irrelevant if someone is not sick right now. If I intentionally exposed you to HIV, just because you don’t test positive for it now doesn’t mean you won’t test positive for it in 5 years. You would be able to sue me for personal injury just for the worry and future testing I will have to undergo for 5 years until I find out for sure that I do not have HIV. You don’t know anything about lawsuits – so don’t comment about something you don’t know about.

People in this country are sue happy. I wish people would get fined for bringing these frivolous lawsuits. These TB sue-happy folks aren’t much different than that weeny judge who sued the dry cleaners for losing his pants. I hope he has to pay the dry cleaners for all their pain and suffering and wasting the court’s time. These people who rode on the plane with Andrew are simply looking for a fast buck and its disgusting.

I hope everyone is listening when I say this LOUD and CLEAR. I work as a Flight Attendant and you should never even fly with a cold or flu! Not everyone has a “healthy” immune system such as children or the elderly and even the flu will put people in danger,not to mention keep me out of work when I really need the pay. I concur with the statement that he absolutely KNEW of his wrongdoing since he so cowardly “snuck” back into the country and shame shame shame on the lax border security!!

To my mind these people are looking for a payday, pure and simple.

This whole dialog is leaving me scratchng my head. Did Andrew Speaker demonstrably cough, sneeze, or talk excessively to any passengers or crew on his flight? If not, then what is the lawsuit supposedly claiming? People MIGHT have been exposed, people MIGHT get sick, people MIGHT have a reason to sue then down the road when such things occur. “What ifs” are the worst possible sort of basis to file on, and it only shows greed.
As far as flying when ill, get over it, it is part of today’s world. Most illnesses are contagious often tiems even before the person who is infected might even be aware of it, and given the brutish behaviour of flight attendants these days, in terms of IDing totally innocent passengers as being bomb toting suspects on overseas flights when the passenger in question did nothing wrong, (and supposedly passed ALL security checks) or kicking off a mother and her 19 month old son off of a flight because the toddler would not shut up and the mother did not wnat to “dope” up her child with some cold medicine, get over it, accept the risks of your job, or quit.
Speaker honestly did not think he was a risk to other people, and nobody has shown how he DID endanger anyone. The CDC was wrong in his diagnosis, not that TB is any joke, but the overreaction to this is incredible. Just saying, what if Speaker did NOT know he had TB at all, what hue and outcry would have taken place then, even though the minimal risks would STILL be identical?
$134,000 for something that MIGHT occur sounds like a great premise to sue for anything anytime any manner. Pain and suffering for WHAT?

Voice of insanity you are anything but. Should I ask you to quit a career you love because of a few selfish people? You have absolutely no idea what my job has become nor can you generalize all Flight Attendants. I see when compassion was handed out you were first in line but held the door for everyone else as they ran out. What I am talking about is good common courtesy…something I think has been lost. Thank you for the attack though. I love what I do and I am good at it. You my not so dear friend are not such the voice of insanity but bitter..party of one!

As I previously wrote, “It seems to me that everyone is being just a little bit disingenuous here: the local health authorities for not having made it clear and unambiguous to Mr. Speaker that he is contagious and should not travel, Mr. Speaker himself for changing his travel plans by leaving several days earlier than planned and then taking a cirsuituous route to return to the US, Mr. Speaker’s father-in-law for not having explained the dangers (which I’m sure he knows quite well) of exposing others to the TB germs, and the CDC which is now in full “damage control” mode, trying to shift all blame to the Canadian Border Patrol guard for his failure to properly detain Mr. Speaker.” That some of the passengers on the same airplane as Mr. Speaker are now trying to profit from his utter disregard for others’ welfare doesn’t surprise me; that this suit is occurring in Canada, which seemed to be full of sensible, pragmatic realists until now, does. Since no one has yet manifested TB symptoms or has even tested positive for the disease, this suit seems to be for “future pain and suffering,” a dubious concept to reward. Sadly, I previously thought that such frivolous lawsuits were only possible in the US. I see I was incorrect.

TB is a serious illness and the least Mr Speaker should do and could have done was wear a mask to stop the droplet spread which is how the disease is spread. You can get the disease anytime, but are more likely to get it from close contact with active infection not under treatment.

I am a lawyer; therefore, I have more knowledge regarding law and injury than most in this forum.
Personal injury law states that one may sue another for acting or failing to act in either an intentional manner, reckless manner or negligent manner. The standard consists of someone knowing (or someone who reasonably should have known) that their conduct would cause foreseeable harm to others.
If we examine the facts, Mr. Speaker knew he had a deadly contagious disease, Mr. Speaker decided to board a flight knowing he had a deadly contagious disease with the hope of getting back to the US to save his own life, and there were people exposed to the deadly contagious disease who now have to worry about testing costs and must SUFFER through not knowing whether they are going to be infected for years to come. Maybe some of you do not believe that emotional suffering is not compensable; however, in most legal systems emotional suffering is in fact compensable. The expensive costs of obtaining X-Rays and TB testing over 10 years is compensable. If someone does eventually get TB in the future, then testing can be done to determine if the origin was from Mr. Speaker – if it is, then they once again can sue Mr. Speaker for damages arising out of actually becoming infected with TB. It is very easy (and also common for people who are not very intelligent) not to appreciate the situation that Mr. Speaker’s fellow airline passengers must now face. You can presume that people with doctorate degrees (i.e., lawyers, judges and lawmakers) are probably in a better position to judge whether or not these passengers have a legitimate case for damages than you do.

Everyone on the flights with Speaker was guilty of some personal negligence because everyone should know the risk of contracting an illness in the closed confines of an aircraft. The legal logic is premised on Speaker’s belief that he was contagious. If he believed he was not, and it appears that that was his frame of mind based on what the CDC “experts” had told him, ipso facto no negligence on his part. If the passengers want to sue someone, they should sue the CDC for incompetence or the airlines for not doing a better job of screening passengers or the press for reporting this story in the first place. No one has become sick – no harm, no foul. If the other passengers are suffering from “emotional trauma” it was self-inflicted through their own ignorance.

Mr. “Imalawyer,” I’m a doctor. So, my professional belief is that these people have no case, unless of course they have contracted TB, or is that TV?

He was told it was OK to travel. I hope he has the paper work to prove it. They should sue the CDC and government, not him. Idiots.

TO: “I am a lawyer”
Case in point: you made it clear, arrogance and a feeling of moral superiority. Perhaps this is part of the problem? Hmmmm

EXACTLY: He purchased trip insurance w/ a provision for emergency transport.While no one will receive money from a lawsuit, I can understand how they would feel angry at the arrogance and disregard for others. The lawsuit is a statement.
Mr Speaker and family focused their actions and verbiage, at distancing themselves from responsibility and concern for people around them. This arrogance has won no sympathy. Honey attracts more than vinegar, so to speak…One would think he would hire a PR firm at this point, the family spin is not working on the regular people.

I find it hard to believe that his man was unaware if he was a threat to others or not. I mean come on, you have this serious health issue (TB) and you don’t know what risks it in tails. I know that I would, as a wise patient, ask my doctor(s) questions in regard to my health issue(s). I also find it hard to believe that the doctor(s) wouldn’t have mention what kind of a threat he may or may not be. No doctor is going to say “Hey, so you have TB” and not give any other important information along with that. And if somehow that is the case, where the doctor didn’t inform the patient of his risks to others than some kind of action needs to be taken against the doctor. Either way whatever the case may be….someone is in the wrong. Whether it be the patient for acting in a careless manner and putting others in risk by not knowing the necessary information about his condition, or it’s the doctor(s) who is wrong for possibly not explaining the necessary information to his patient. TB is a serious matter and should never be treated in a careless manner.