In the business world, medical-grade oxygen suppliers that have failed to make good on contracts with industrial customers are effectively “willing to take the legal risk, and putting themselves in jeopardy that their industrial customers come back and say ‘hey, we had a contract here, you’re breaking that contract,'” says Rich Gottwald of the Compressed Gas Association, a trade group.
“But, they’ve got to do it, because saving lives is more important,” he says.
The intrigue: Invoking a “force majeure” — a legal term for unforeseen external circumstances, or an “act of God” — is one way that suppliers can try to justify their decision under the law.
Reality check: Liquid oxygen is difficult to transport long distances. It’s cryogenic, meaning it needs to be kept really, really cold — and it requires specially designed trucks for transport.
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