A registered nurse filed a Massachusetts worker's compensation claim for temporary total incapacity benefits saying she contracted COVID-19 due to caring for patients while working at a hospital. The case was denied. On appeal, the denial was upheld.
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT… compensation benefits were denied because the employee only introduced two letters from her primary care physician which only established a temporal relationship between the infection to her workplace. An opinion supplied by a doctor for the employer opined that the employee likely acquired COVID-19 in the community rather than at work because of the precautions taken to prevent infection and the opportunity for exposure outside of work. The court said the evidence was insufficient to find that the workplace caused the COVID-19 infection.
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