ARTICLE · 21 OCTOBER 2014

From Epidemic To Bioterrorism: Mitigating Contractor Risks In A Worst-Case Scenario

Reed Smith

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While the current Ebola outbreak is a natural epidemic, the idea that the virus could be used as a bioterrorist threat has been considered.

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Lorraine Campos

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While the current Ebola outbreak is a natural epidemic, the idea that the virus could be used as a bioterrorist threat has been considered. Accordingly, the potential for obtaining Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002 (SAFETY Act) protection for products or services related to fighting the Ebola virus is not completely far-fetched.

As background, the SAFETY Act was established to facilitate the development and use of effective anti-terrorism products and services. The SAFETY Act creates systems of risk and litigation management by providing liability protections for manufacturers and sellers of qualified anti-terrorism technologies (QATT) that could save lives. Specifically, sellers of QATT are granted limited liability for third-party claims arising out of the deployment of the QATT with respect to acts of terrorism. The maximum liability is determined by DHS on an applicant-by-applicant basis

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