And Now, the Lawsuits

The fact of the matter is that despite the fact that he was INITIALLY told it was OK, once they told him he should stay put in Rome, he "cut and run" like a coward (as the GOP would say). He knew he was doing wrong because he tried to sneak through Canada. He obviously put these people through emotional hell so he should. And, as a lawyer, he's got plenty to pay with.

Instead of suing because there is an opportunity to sue, those people should be thankful that they have not been diagnosed with any sickness. Where is Mr. Speaker going to get that kind of money? He is not rich and neither are his parents! He should be the one suing those who misdiagnosed his illness and made it appear worse than what it actually was. The question the judge should ask is: Are you sick? Were you at any time sick after being in close proximity to Mr. Speaker?
And, common sense should tell you that when you are in a plane you shouldn't expect any sort of healthy airflow, or expect that every person you come in contact with is healthy. There are many illnesses which are airborne yet we don't sue people who have flus or colds. Get over it and move on!

He is a lawyer in the same field. No passengers will win any judgment. It is a statement. His Dad has a powerful firm, even if son is new at private practice. Between him and his Dad's firm, they have the advantage. They seem to seek or enjoy intimidation. The entire tape scenerio was oddly intimidating.

But I think it will make a point that when the CDC comes to you, that is a big deal. Hello Mr Speaker. One should listen and not intimidate the messenger or twist their words. He was basically told not to go, and at least knew by the time he finished his first of MANY flights that it was a bad idea. He had enough money for that lavish overseas wedding and honeymoon. He could of waited in Italy if the cost was precluded. Between his familes and friends, he could not urge them to pool money in an emergency to wrangle a private transport back......... ridiculous. Then wait in Italy. He had many choices, the first was to not go at all. It was a trip for pleasure not to transport human organs to a hospital. It is about priorities and other people did not count to him, just pleasure.

He and his family, and certainly his in-laws are not idiots. the attitude with the tape and secretly recording the medical conversation and threatened the CDC from the get go. His entire stance was off from the beginning. Let em sue and stop his arrogance for authority. Maybe it will stop the media from treating him like a darling, when others should also be heard.Some of the coverage has been tawdry.

If he had or would show some sincere/long-term empathy, it would of helped.Stop the pictures of the wife in tears. Why not call up the families from the get go, their reactions from day 1 were to be on the defence. They would not listen to anyone except from w/in their circle. They made it worse.

People come in contact with others who have diseases every day, some of them very dangerous, too, and never know it. Life is full of risks. Does anyone really think that everyone who flies on a plane has a certificate of good health? I read somewhere that a huge number of people in the world actually carry TB bacteria without ever getting the disease. This means that we are probably being exposed more often than we think to this disease. Sure, Speaker was selfish but he was probably scared himself of getting stuck in a foreign country. I think a lot of people would be. The people who are suing are legitimately anxious about getting the disease but it sounds like to me that this is just someone seeing an opportunity to make some money off someone. The money is not likely to be for medical expenses if these people are Canadian since, in a worse case scenario, they would receive health care in Canada if they become ill. Anyone know about this?

Andrew Speaker deserves to be sued. He knew he had a contagious disease and put his own welfare above every man, woman and child on each of those planes - especially on the return trip when the CDC told him to stay put.

I hope Andrew Speaker is forced to pay through his nose for legal fees and other expenses. That may - just may - knock his arrogance level down a notch.

I agree, the Speaker family,in laws and friends inflamed a situation that could of been handled better in the media. The Speakers were heck bent to enter a full court press in the public relations arena. It scared me. Had they been a little more approachable to various entities we would see a calmer fall out. They could of been less hostile to passengers by reaching out in a more genuine way. They were in attack mode about the CDC & various entities from day one. I see a 50/50 path of blame, not just the Speaker family or the CDC. Mr Speaker had some level of responsibility, we all do as adults and citizens in the free world.

He deserves to be sued. Lawyers are especially aware of the duty not to harm others and what negligence, intentional and reckless harm is. According to what he has already said publicly, he KNEW he was risking the lives of others so he could save his own. That was his state of mind when he left Europe and flew to Canada. It is irrelevant if he is not rich, it is irrelevant if he hasn't been practicing law for 10 years, it is irrelevant that other people are exposed to illnesses every day - what is relevant is that he was aware he had a deadly contagious disease, was told not to fly, he put other people at a deadly risk and he did it all to save his own butt.

As usual, a bunch of scum file lawsuits just "because they can". This is ridiculous. If they didn't get hurt the case should be thrown out and they should have to pay Speaker's legal bills. What is this country coming to?

To Daniel: It is irrelevant if someone is not sick right now. If I intentionally exposed you to HIV, just because you don't test positive for it now doesn't mean you won't test positive for it in 5 years. You would be able to sue me for personal injury just for the worry and future testing I will have to undergo for 5 years until I find out for sure that I do not have HIV. You don't know anything about lawsuits - so don't comment about something you don't know about.

John: come back and leave a comment that makes sense. If you had a 5 year old daughter who had to undergo testing for TB every 6 months AND you had to worry about her testing positive for TB until she was 16 years old AND you had to worry about her dying from TB - you would be suing too.

People in this country are sue happy. I wish people would get fined for bringing these frivolous lawsuits. These TB sue-happy folks aren't much different than that weeny judge who sued the dry cleaners for losing his pants. I hope he has to pay the dry cleaners for all their pain and suffering and wasting the court's time. These people who rode on the plane with Andrew are simply looking for a fast buck and its disgusting.

We should learn from this lesson. Whether we like it or not, people who are diagnosed with a potentially untreatable disease will be frightened and confused. Many will act unwisely or selfishly.

Our public health authorities should anticipate this and help the panicked victims of untreatable contagious diseases comply. There should be resources and protocols to transport these victims safely to treatment, in a familiar and reassuring environment.

Surely, if we have trillions to spend on war, we can provide advice and transportation to help people comply with public health orders. You can call it enlightened self-interest.

I hope everyone is listening when I say this LOUD and CLEAR. I work as a Flight Attendant and you should never even fly with a cold or flu! Not everyone has a "healthy" immune system such as children or the elderly and even the flu will put people in danger,not to mention keep me out of work when I really need the pay. I concur with the statement that he absolutely KNEW of his wrongdoing since he so cowardly "snuck" back into the country and shame shame shame on the lax border security!!

It is about time that the Speakers have to show how good they are as personal injury lawyers. They have long been on the other side of the fence.

To my mind these people are looking for a payday, pure and simple.

The Speakers are personal injury lawyers. Lawyers are trained to recognize the duty not to harm others and what negligence, intentional and reckless harm is. He made statements underscoring he was aware of the risk to others,especially the risks of confined areas with lots of people, like a plane, airport waiting area,hotel or wedding reception. He ignored all others, selecting what would be easiest for him.

If he was frightened or confused he should of stayed put and reduced the stress and complications he created.He is an educated adult, expected to err on the side of caution. Expected to take some responsibility for his actions, that is what his field of ligation is, holding the individual responsible.If he felt confused or overwhelmed, why fly across the globe for an elective trip? Because he chose pleasure when he could of taken the weekend to think it over and wait for information while in Georgia.

This whole dialog is leaving me scratchng my head. Did Andrew Speaker demonstrably cough, sneeze, or talk excessively to any passengers or crew on his flight? If not, then what is the lawsuit supposedly claiming? People MIGHT have been exposed, people MIGHT get sick, people MIGHT have a reason to sue then down the road when such things occur. "What ifs" are the worst possible sort of basis to file on, and it only shows greed.

As far as flying when ill, get over it, it is part of today's world. Most illnesses are contagious often tiems even before the person who is infected might even be aware of it, and given the brutish behaviour of flight attendants these days, in terms of IDing totally innocent passengers as being bomb toting suspects on overseas flights when the passenger in question did nothing wrong, (and supposedly passed ALL security checks) or kicking off a mother and her 19 month old son off of a flight because the toddler would not shut up and the mother did not wnat to "dope" up her child with some cold medicine, get over it, accept the risks of your job, or quit.

Speaker honestly did not think he was a risk to other people, and nobody has shown how he DID endanger anyone. The CDC was wrong in his diagnosis, not that TB is any joke, but the overreaction to this is incredible. Just saying, what if Speaker did NOT know he had TB at all, what hue and outcry would have taken place then, even though the minimal risks would STILL be identical?

$134,000 for something that MIGHT occur sounds like a great premise to sue for anything anytime any manner. Pain and suffering for WHAT?

I keep seeing people saying everyone is sue happy in this country ah read the info there sueing from Canada, And i believe they have the right this man knew before going that the CDC asked him to wait, then told him not too return but to go too the Italy health department and get help there while they where working on it and he simply just snuck around the main way in and took a back route to get to the US and anyone on the flight with him has every right to sue, He had no regard for anyone else but his self and that is selfish. and he deserves what he gets.

Voice of insanity you are anything but. Should I ask you to quit a career you love because of a few selfish people? You have absolutely no idea what my job has become nor can you generalize all Flight Attendants. I see when compassion was handed out you were first in line but held the door for everyone else as they ran out. What I am talking about is good common courtesy...something I think has been lost. Thank you for the attack though. I love what I do and I am good at it. You my not so dear friend are not such the voice of insanity but bitter..party of one!

You have got to be kidding. The standard is: did you experience any adverse outcome? No? Then you have NO CASE!