As coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads through the United States, more individuals are going to be exposed to the virus at work.  Those individuals who are exposed at work should definitely pursue workers’ compensation claims if they contract the virus.

The reason that workers’ compensation should be pursued is that, if workers’ compensation is granted, the system will cover all of the medical bills related to the condition and payment for time off related to the condition (without using up sick time or vacation time).  Moreover, in the very unfortunate situation that significant complications arise from coronavirus, workers’ compensation should cover treatment related to those complications and will pay dependents compensation in the extremely unfortunate situation where work-related coronavirus leads to death.

The following professions are just some of the fields where exposure to coronavirus is most likely to occur.  If you contract the coronavirus and think that you may have been exposed at work, contact The Harris Firm today to see how you should proceed with your workers’ compensation claim:

Medical Personnel: Medical professionals are at the most obvious risk for contracting coronavirus at work.  While most medical facilities are taking significant measures to prevent employees from being exposed, the experience of medical professionals in the countries where this virus has spread prior to reaching the United States demonstrates that many medical professionals will contract the virus.  Doctors, nurses, paramedics, EMTs and anyone else involved in the health care industry is likely to have significant interaction with sick patients.  If you work in any of these fields and contract the virus, you are likely to have a workers’ compensation claim. [Read more…]

Coronavirus is currently spreading across the globe.  As of the date of this article, it has yet to reach the United States in significant numbers, but it appears like a more widespread outbreak may be on the horizon. Individuals have a wide variety of exposure risks when it comes to coronavirus.  Many of those risks are work-related.  In those cases, the persons who contract coronavirus should be pursuing workers’ compensation claims.

If you, or someone you know contracts coronavirus, and think it may be related to work, feel free to contact The Harris Firm to determine whether you can pursue a workers’ compensation claim.  Below are some things to keep in mind when thinking about whether a work-related claim for coronavirus might exist.

The most obvious claims for work-related coronavirus will arise from individuals working in the medical field.

As we have already seen in China, individuals who are assigned to treat persons suffering from coronavirus have an increased likelihood of contracting the disease themselves.  Doctors, nurses, hospital staffers, individuals involved in containment practices, and many others are coming into contact with coronavirus sufferers across the world.  If those same individuals contract the coronavirus due to this exposure they unquestionably have workers’ compensation claims that should be pursued.  If you are exposed to coronavirus at work with patients suffering from the disease, a workers’ compensation claim should be filed related to those exposures. [Read more…]