TB Lawyer Still News

A while back, I shared my thoughts on the TB-infected lawyer, Andrew Speakman, who I argued had endangered others unnecessarily when he flew, against advice, to Europe to get married, and then fled from Europe when he found he was about to be quarantined. In my last post, I said:

Interesting. I wonder if anyone contracted drug-resistant TB on the flight. I wonder how many people on the flight are quaking in fear that they might contract it. I wonder if Speaker's worried about getting sued. I think I would be.

New news on that front. According to Reuters, Speakman's being sued by nine people from his flight to Canada, and more suits may be coming.

The suit was launched by seven Canadian passengers and two Czech women who were on the Czech Airlines flight with Speaker from Prague to Montreal, their lawyer, Anlac Nguyen, said.

The suits are worth a total of C$1.37 million ($1.3 million), he said.

"When Mr. Speaker boarded the plane from Prague to go to Montreal, he knew that he was not to fly. He defied that order," he said.

Nguyen said there could be more lawsuits to come in the next few weeks, as four other people have contacted him.

He said that his clients have been forced to put their lives on hold and have endured financial loss, anxiety and depression.

Passenger Nassim Tabri is suing Speaker for C$140,000.

"His behavior was reckless," Tabri said. "I want him to be held accountable for what
he has done."

Tabri had originally been sitting near the back of the plane but to accommodate his tall physique, he was moved near the front, one row away from Speaker.

The Montreal student is now awaiting tuberculosis test results, due at the end of the month.

In a June interview with ABC television, Speaker said: "I hope they understand, based on what I was told I didn't think I was making that gamble."

"I truly believe there is a misunderstanding of how we entered into all of this," he said.

I'll be interested to see how this works out. I don't see how Speakman didn't see he was taking a gamble, and I think a competent lawyer would be able to say that argue that, given his occupation and his father-in-law's credentials, and the allegations that he flew to Prague to flee an Italian quarantine, Speakman knew he shouldn't be flying. I'd like to see him explain the "misunderstanding" that we all seem to have in this case.