Letter in the Times Union,Manufacturers Need Protection

Letter: Manufacturers need protection to work

At his April 3 news conference, Gov. Andrew Cuomo lamented that the state's manufacturers were not stepping up to manufacture personal protective equipment and other COVID-19 related safety products.

There is a reason: The state's manufacturers are scared. New York is one of the most litigious states in the most litigious country in the world. If manufacturers repurpose their facilities, they could open themselves up to unforeseen liability.

Cuomo seems to understand this. In one of his first executive orders, he exacted liability protections for doctors, medical professionals and volunteers, except in cases of gross negligence. The state Legislature bolstered this effort by extending similar protections to medical facilities as part of the state budget.

As we face critical shortages of PPE and other COVID-19-related products, the governor and Legislature must enact liability protections to New York businesses that choose to repurpose their facilities to help fight this terrible pandemic.

The federal government has already enacted protections on the products themselves. We understand that masks may not be perfect if they came from a clothing factory. However, New York needs to supplement that effort by offering protections to the manufacturing facilities themselves.

If a New York distillery volunteers to manufacture hand sanitizer, they need some assurance that they will not face a potentially bankrupting lawsuit.

Unless Cuomo enacts some kind of liability protections for repurposed manufacturing facilities, many New York manufacturers will remain tragically on the sidelines during this crisis.

Tom Stebbins

Read it online here: https://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Manufacturers-need-protection-to-work-15213830.php