Do You Qualify for Workers’ Compensation After Contracting COVID-19 at Work?

Posted in Workers Compensation

Although there have been several outbreaks of serious diseases in the last few decades, most of the population has never lived through, much less worked during, an extreme global pandemic like COVID-19. There have been serious outbreaks of dangerous diseases, like SARS in 2002 or H1N1 in 2009, but COVID-19 was unlike any other.

Everyone will remember the world shutting down for months on end with shelter-in-place orders being issued to keep the pandemic from spreading so rapidly. Because COVID-19 and the protocols that followed were so unfamiliar to the general population, there has been a lot of concern and fear surrounding COVID-19. That concern and fear is of course related to contracting the disease, but it is also related to how it affects our daily lives and our ability to support ourselves if we were to contract it.

Because COVID-19 was unfamiliar territory for most of the world, including lawmakers, there is still some confusion surrounding COVID-19 and workers’ compensation rights. However, our experienced attorneys in Atlanta and Phoenix are here to help give you insight on if you qualify for workers’ compensation benefits as it relates to COVID-19.

What Qualifies for Workers’ Compensation with COVID-19?

In professions where there are health risks involved, like working in a factory or being a firefighter, workers’ compensation benefits are almost guaranteed to be granted to the workers if something happens on the job that impacts their health in a negative way. With COVID-19, workers who were not previously thought to be in a “dangerous” field, like grocery store clerks or caretakers at nursing homes, are now at risk for being exposed to the pandemic.

However, in order to claim workers’ compensation benefits you have to be able to prove that your injury, or in this case contraction of COVID, happened while you were on the job. This can be difficult to prove, especially if you work in a private office or other setting where you do not come in contact with many other people.

If you work in a setting where you come in contact with a lot of people who could potentially be contagious, your chances of receiving workers’ compensation benefits are much higher because contracting COVID-19 at work is much more likely. The benefits you may be entitled to from contracting COVID-19 at work depends on the severity of the impact COVID has had on your health. Some of these benefits could include partial disability, total disability, medical benefits, or rehabilitative care benefits.

Contact Cruz & Associates with Additional Questions

Our Atlanta and Phoenix based teams at Cruz & Associates understand that working during a pandemic can be a frightening time, and we are here to provide any assistance we can. Each case is different, but if you have contracted COVID-19 at work and your health is suffering because of it, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits.

If you have additional questions about your unique situation, and whether or not you qualify for workers’ compensation, our experienced team of lawyers can help provide you with the clarity you need. Understand what your options are when it comes to COVID-19 and workers’ compensation benefits, call us today.