Legal experts say Zenobia Shepherd’s lawsuit is one of a small but likely growing number of cases filed by family members who claim their loved ones contracted the coronavirus and died as a result of an employer’s negligence.
A Prince George’s County judge denied part of a motion on Tuesday to dismiss the case in a lawsuit filed by the family of a supermarket worker who died of COVID-related complications early on in the pandemic.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
America marks the loss of 200,000 lives to the coronavirus this week. Looking back to the early days of the pandemic, there was a realignment in who we thought of as a front-line worker.
SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:
Nurses and doctors certainly made that list; so did delivery drivers and grocery store workers, some of the lowest paid people in the country, people like Leilani Jordan of Largo, Md.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ZENOBIA SHEPHERD: She d say, but, Mommy, I need to work and help people, Mommy.
KELLY: Jordan s mother, Zenobia Shepherd, told TV station WUSA that Jordan had a disability that caused cognitive delays and impaired her vision. But despite being in a high-risk category, Jordan wanted to keep working. The store needed people for the early shift, a time reserved for seniors to come in and shop, so Jordan volunteered.
Keeping our country’s food supply secure during the pandemic would not have been possible without the courage of essential workers on the frontlines in grocery stores and meatpacking plants. The least we can do for them and their families now is make sure they are vaccinated and vaccinated quickly.
500,000 dead: Remembering Coronavirus victim Leilani Jordan wusa9.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wusa9.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.