Are you wondering how Workmans Comp is going to handle Coronavirus? The following information is from Washington State Department of Labor.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), and other public health agencies are responding to an outbreak of respiratory disease known as new coronavirus, or COVID-19.
The complete clinical picture regarding this public health emergency isn’t fully understood. Reported illnesses have ranged from mild to severe, including cases and deaths in Washington.
This information is meant to answer many of the questions L&I is receiving regarding workers’ compensation coverage and this new disease.
Questions About Workers’ Compensation Coverage and Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Can COVID-19 ever be allowed as a work-related condition?
Under certain circumstances, claims from health care providers and first responders involving COVID-19 may be allowed. Other claims that meet certain criteria for exposure will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
In most cases, exposure and/or contraction of COVID-19 is not considered to be an allowable, work-related condition.
When to file a claim
The Industrial Insurance Act allows for treatment of COVID-19 when work-related activity has resulted in probable exposure to the virus and certain criteria are met. In these cases, the worker’s occupation must have a greater likelihood of contracting the disease because of the job (examples include first responders or health care workers). There must also be a documented or probable work-related exposure, and an employee/employer relationship.
Before helping a worker file a workers’ compensation claim, the treating provider should consider if the following criteria are met:
Was there an increased risk or greater likelihood of contracting the condition due to the worker’s occupation (such as a first responder or health care worker)?
If not for their job, would the worker have been exposed to the virus or contracted the condition?
Can the worker identify a specific source or event during the performance of his or her employment that resulted in exposure to the new coronavirus (examples include a first responder or health care worker who has actually treated a patient with the virus)?
If the above criteria are not met, it is not necessary to file a workers’ compensation claim; however, a claim may still be filed if requested by the worker or if the provider is uncertain if the case meets the criteria.
When will a claim likely be denied?
When the contraction of COVID-19 is incidental to the workplace or common to all employment (such as an office worker who contracts the condition from a fellow employee), a claim for exposure to and contraction of the disease will be denied.
Ben Winter, P.A. focuses its practice in the areas of Social Security Disability and Workers Compensation in St Petersburg, Florida. For more information, go to our web site www.benwinterlaw.com or call (727) 822-0100.