Just a cough and a sneeze? You might get legal fees. Diseases that spread in public assembly venues can create a legal nightmare. What liability do event industry professionals have?
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By Philip Blass
afeguarding guests from disease may not be the first thing event industry professionals think of in their daily work, but it is especially worth considering these days. Over the last year, Legionnaires Disease has been spreading and making the news, from an Atlanta Sheraton to a North Carolina state fair to an apartment complex in the Bronx borough of New York City. But it’s not just Legionnaires: Measles resurfaced in the California State University Library and made an appearance in Pittsburgh International Airport, and the flu made its rounds on a Norwegian cruise to the Panama Canal — just to name a few incidents. How safe are public assembly venues from these diseases? After all, arenas, convention centers and hotels bring thousands of people into physical contact with their facilities. Charles Starks, President and CEO “Sanitation begins of Music City Center in with a good defense, Nashville, TN, maintains that and we block and such venues are generally tackle really good.” safe, thanks to effective sanitation practices. “Sanitation —Charles Starks, begins with a good defense,” President and CEO, he says, “and we block and Music City Center tackle really good.” Among
FACILITIES & DESTINATIONS 2020 SPRING
“The duty of people who operate public accommodations is to make those accommodations reasonably safe for their reasonably foreseeable business invitees.” —Steve Adelman, attorney and Vice President, Event Safety Alliance other things, the constant upkeep of air vents, continual water systems cleanings, consistent sanitization of surfaces, and the two basic rules of washing hands and coughing in one’s sleeve already “eliminate a lot of your concerns to begin with,” according to Starks.
LEGAL LIABILITY AND PREVENTION
Arguably, the venue is legally responsible for disease prevention efforts, not the event organizer. “I don’t believe event planners are responsible or have legal liability for diseases. It’s the venue’s responsibility to maintain a healthy environment for its attendees and exhibitors,” claims Bill Lemmon, Meeting Solutions Consultant at MCI-USA in Chicago, IL. Maintaining that healthy environment is considered reasonable behavior, and thus expected under the law. “The most foundational legal premise is: Everyone has a duty to behave reasonably under their circumstances,” explains Steve Adelman, attorney and Vice President of the Event Safety Alliance. “The duty of people who operate public accommodations is to make those accommodations reasonably safe for their reasonably foreseeable business invitees.” According to John Siehl, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of VenuWorks in Englewood, OH, the more controllable 29
