While the majority of COVID-19 infections will not cause lasting impairment, there will be individuals who suffer lasting disabilities. Worse yet, Coronavirus will also result in work related deaths.
Workers’ compensation insurance carriers will fight these cases, alleging that exposure to Coronavirus did not happen at work. We’ve seen this before with other types of claims (e.g., Valley Fever) and successfully overcome the insurance carriers’ denials.
We are hopeful that California legislators will enact legislation that provides presumptions that COVID-19 is work related for certain types of jobs (e.g., healthcare workers).
As we know, COVID-19 is most dangerous to certain individuals, particularly individuals with pre-existing health problems (sometimes referred to as co-morbidities). In the unfortunate event that an already sick person contracts Coronavirus and then dies, the family of the deceased worker might have a claim for benefits. The legal question is whether Coronavirus hastened the death of the individual.
If you have questions about how to file a workers’ compensation claim for COVID-19, please don’t hesitate to contact us for a free consultation.
Tags: coronavirus, coronavirus death, work related coronavirus, workers comp coronavirus, workers comp covid-19