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Law360 (May 25, 2021, 6:51 PM EDT) -- A Pittsburgh-area couple have accused a physical therapist of infecting them with COVID-19 after failing to wear adequate safety gear when she visited their home for an appointment last fall.
In a complaint removed to federal court on Monday, John Boyle and Cheryl McKinney said they were both hospitalized with COVID-19 and continued to suffer medical complications resulting from an encounter with an Orthopedic & Sports Physical Therapy Associates Inc. worker who treated Boyle at his Allegheny County home in November.
"Mr. Boyle and Ms. McKinney continue to suffer adverse health effects associated with the disease, and Ms. McKinney still relies on an oxygen tank" to breathe, the pair said in their complaint.
According to the complaint, Boyle was ordered to undergo physical therapy last fall as he recovered from open-heart surgery, and he arranged for in-home treatment in order to minimize his contacts with people outside his household.
When his physical therapist arrived at Boyle's home, however, the complaint said that she wasn't wearing gloves, a face shield or an appropriate mask and that she shook Boyle's hand and provided treatment without washing her hands.
Less than a week later, the complaint said the therapist, identified as Judith Meyer, called Boyle to inform him that she and her son had both tested positive for the coronavirus.
Boyle and McKinney both went on to develop symptoms and were ultimately admitted to a hospital, where they stayed for about ten days before being released.
After their hospitalization, the complaint said, Boyle and McKinney continued to suffer lingering symptoms.
The complaint accused both Meyer and the physical therapy firm of negligence.
Representatives for the parties did not immediately return messages seeking comment on Tuesday.
Under an executive order signed by Gov. Tom Wolf after the coronavirus pandemic took hold last year, health care practitioners were granted a liability shield from claims related to their treatment of coronavirus patients.
When the Republican-controlled state legislature went on to pass a broader liability shield for claims of coronavirus exposure in November, the measure was deemed "overreaching" by Wolf in a veto statement.
A similar bill is again working its way through the General Assembly as part of the new legislative session that began in January.
Meanwhile, two meatpacking plants in and around Philadelphia have been hit by lawsuits alleging that workers contracted COVID-19 as a result of lax workplace safety protocols.
A Pittsburgh-area nursing home is also facing claims from more than a dozen residents and their survivors after a coronavirus outbreak last year.
The plaintiffs are represented by John Corcoran Jr. and Mark Casper Jr. of Jones Gregg Creehan & Gerace LLP.
The defendants are represented by Patrick Mechas and Allison Erndl of Burns White LLC.
The case is John Boyle et al. v. Judith Meyer et al., case number 2:21-cv-00694, before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
--Editing by Rich Mills.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
