In a 5-4 decision, the Puerto Rico Supreme Court ruled for the first time on the immunity granted by the federal Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) in claims over alleged medical-hospital malpractice during the COVID-19 pandemic. In opinion 2026 TSPR 105, written by Associate Justice Ángel Colón Pérez, the court held: "Resulta improcedente desestimar una acción de daños y perjuicios a base de una aplicación automática de la inmunidad conferida por la Ley PREP."
The case began in 2024, when Rita Marchese Torres sued several doctors and Profesional Hospital de Guaynabo for $13,000. She alleged that during a 2021 hospital visit her husband was not diagnosed with COVID-19 and was sent home as having a cold; days later he died of the disease. The hospital sought dismissal under PREP Act immunity and argued the claim had expired (prescripción).
The Court of First Instance agreed, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court said courts must verify every requirement before applying immunity: a covered person, a recommended countermeasure, the applicable period and geography, and a causal link between the countermeasure and the harm. It called PREP immunity an affirmative defense, which can support dismissal only if the plaintiff’s own allegations show it defeats the claim.
The court also reviewed rules on interrupting the statute of limitations, including extrajudicial claims and claims against multiple defendants.