As Florida and the rest of the country continues to combat COVID-19 with non-essential business closures and layoffs, many workers have been deemed “essential employees” and remain in the workforce. Depending on your job and the type of work you are required to perform for your employer, exposure to coronavirus may fall under Florida Workers’ Compensation law. As with all exposure claims, proving the connection between your job and injuries from exposure can be very difficult.
According to Florida Statute 440.151, an employer and/or its workers’ compensation insurance carrier will be responsible for payment of compensation (meaning lost wages) and medical treatment for said disease so long as the disease “resulted from the nature of the employment in which the employee was engaged” while in the course and scope of his/her employment with the employer. The Statute goes on to define the legal term “occupational disease” to mean “only a disease which is due to causes and conditions which are characteristic of and peculiar to a particular trade, occupation, process, or employment, and to exclude all ordinary diseases of life to which the general public is exposed, unless the incidence of the disease is substantially higher in the particular trade, occupation, process, or employment than for the general public.” In laymen’s terms, in order to prove that your contraction of COVID-19 is work related, a worker must show that by the very nature of his or her job, the exposure to the virus was at a greater level than that of the average person or public.
Unfortunately, the burden of proving compensability of COVID-19 exposure and occupational injuries is on the injured worker. For this reason, the selection of your workers’ compensation attorney can dictate the outcome of your case, and can make the difference between receiving lost wages and appropriate medical treatment, or simply fending for yourself. The Jacksonville workers’ comp lawyers of McGrath Gibson have over 35 years of experience in prosecuting and defending Florida worker’s comp claims. If you believe you were exposed to COVID-19 while working for your employer, contact McGrath Gibson immediately at (904) 358-3300 to schedule a free telephonic or virtual consultation today.
