On March 7, 2021, at about 1:16PM, police were called to the intersection of San Bruno Avenue and Bacon Street where Uber driver, Subhakar Khadka reported that he had been assaulted by two female passengers. At 12:45pm, Subhakar picked up three passengers on his Uber. A few minutes into the ride, Subhakar noticed that one of the passengers was not wearing a mask, at which point, he stopped the car as one of Uber’s policies requires that both drivers and passengers must wear masks. 

The passenger without a mask was identified as 24 year old Arna Kimiai, who was later caught on security camera footage shouting profanity and racial slurs at Subhakar, and intentionally coughing on him. Kimiai even goes as far as to grab Subhakar’s mask off while recording the act on her phone.

As the passengers eventually exited the vehicle, one of the passengers, identified as Malaysia King, who also earlier claimed “I have corona”,  reached into the car window to pepper spray Subkhahar.

Arna Kimiai turned herself in after a warrant for her arrest was released. She was charged for assault and battery, conspiracy, robbery, and for the violation of health and safety codes. King, on the other hand, was arrested and charged for assault with a caustic chemical, assault and battery, and also for a violation of health and safety code. Both women have been banned from ride sharing platforms Uber and Lyft.

Can I Sue Someone Who Intentionally Tries to Infect Me?

In the case stated earlier, a person may be liable for assault for coughing or spitting on another person. The rationale behind this is that someone coughing and sniffling causes extreme anxiety, so much so that the act of intentionally coughing on someone is considered assault, as it is an act that causes physical harm to a victim, or causes a victim to fear injury, which in this case, is the harm that the victim is going to be infected with the COVID-19 virus.

While there are no laws that specifically impute liability on someone for intentionally coughing on you, there are many precedents that serve as basis for the persecution of such an act. Like those precedents, there are some conditions that must first be met before a person can be sued for intentionally coughing on you.

The Accused Must Know They’re Infected

Before the act of coughing can be considered assault, the accused must first be aware that they’re infected or they must claim to be infected. Otherwise, the act would not prosper if the accused was asymptomatic and had no knowledge that they were infected. In the above cited case, although it was only Malaysia King who claimed to be infected, the fact that she was with Kimiai, who wasn’t wearing a mask, was also presumed to be infected. 

The Accused Must Have Been Acting Recklessly

It must also be proven that the accused was acting recklessly, that the person’s actions were not something that a person who knows they are infected would reasonably do.

It’s important to know what your rights are, not just so you know how to protect yourself, but also so you know what to avoid. In any case, if your rights have been encroached upon, always seek help from lawyers like the ones from Law Offices of Kamela James. Even something as seemingly harmless as coughing can land you in more trouble than it’s worth. After all, it doesn’t cost anything to act like a decent human being.