Is COVID-19 Covered by Workers’ Compensation
- Posted on: May 15 2022
Many jobs still do not have a way to allow remote work. If this is the case for you, then you could be at a higher risk of becoming infected by the Coronavirus the minute you step into your workspace.
The thing to know is if you will be covered by workers’ compensation if you become sick or gravely ill? The bad part is that the answer to this is based on what your state describes the sickness as and which will determine if compensation is warranted. In fact, many of the state policies in place are constantly changing. However, there needs to be some guidance in this matter.
The need to prove the Infections Source
Many workers’ compensation insurers are continuously arguing the fact that an exposure did not take place at the worksite. In fact, the state may even require the need for a burden of proof that can show infection took place while working.
Being a worker that is considered essential will allow a claim to become much easier to be proven that it took place while working. The reason is due to their direct contact with infected individuals. These essential workers are considered to be first responders, health care workers, and law enforcement.
If you are considered a nonessential worker, then the likelihood of proving exposure took place at work will become difficult while submitting a claim for workers’ compensation. You need to check with your state to see what the policies say if any.
Hopefully, if a state is not able to assume the exposure took place at work, then an assumption must be made while claiming for benefits. By assuming exposure took place at work, the insurer will need to show proof that it did not take place at work. If unable to show proof, then it assumed that exposure did take place.
Frequently, a rebuttable presumption is accepted by the fact that they are made by decrees on the state level or actions taken place through policies or legislation.
Get In Contact With An Experienced Workers Compensation Attorney
With a pandemic in full swing still, there still seems to be no way of telling how workers’ compensation truly works to cover a sick worker. Each state has their own initiatives in place relating to COVID-19. However, changes can occur quickly, and if an infection has taken place while working and you need to prove it, then your attorney will be able to assist. You should get a hold of an experienced attorney today so that you can go over the options you have. We will sit down with you and provide the most up-to-date information concerning policies covering the COVID-19 and how it is covered by workers’ compensation.
Posted in: Blog, Workers Compensation Benefits