What This Statute Says
Arizona enacted a broad pandemic liability shield after COVID-19. It applies whenever the governor declares a state of emergency for a public health pandemic under Title 26.
A person or provider that acts in good faith to protect a customer, student, tenant, volunteer, patient, guest or neighbor or the public from injury from the public health pandemic is not liable for damages in any civil action for any injury, death or loss to person or property... unless it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that the person or provider failed to act or acted and the failure to act or action was due to that person's or provider's wilful misconduct or gross negligence.
A.R.S. § 12-515(A)"Good faith" is presumed when reasonable pandemic-related policies were adopted and implemented. The clear and convincing standard is higher than the usual preponderance-of-the-evidence test, making these cases much harder to win.
When This Statute Comes Into Play
The shield reaches a long list of "providers":
- Businesses selling consumer or business goods, services, or entertainment.
- Schools, school districts, and charter schools.
- Property owners, managers, and lessors.
- Nonprofits and religious institutions.
- State and local government agencies.
- Health professionals and health care institutions.
The statute applies retroactively to claims arising from acts or omissions on or after March 11, 2020. Worker compensation claims under Title 23, Chapter 6 are excluded.
What This Means for Arizona Families
This shield rarely surfaces in routine estate work, but it can matter when an estate is pursuing a claim arising from a pandemic-related death. A family whose loved one contracted a pandemic illness at a long-term care facility, a workplace, or another setting will face the high gross negligence or willful misconduct bar before a civil recovery is possible.
If you are administering an estate that includes a potential pandemic-related claim, an Arizona civil litigation attorney can evaluate whether the evidence rises to the gross negligence level. Compensatory recoveries that do come through still flow into the estate and are distributed under the will or the intestate succession rules.