The Coronavirus is a Real Snake in the Grass
Recently, national commentator Thomas A. Robinson examined the question whether an employee who has been diagnosed with the coronavirus (COVID-19) could recover under an employer’s workers’ compensation policy. While Mr. Robinson’s analysis is not specific to the Texas Act, there is much about his thinking that is consistent with current interpretations of Texas law.
The world is transfixed by a new enemy: the coronavirus. I just received an email from my bank reminding me how I can use my accounts’ electronic features so as to avoid personal contact. In the last two working days, I’ve received two emails and a phone call from concerned HR officials asking what impact I thought the virus might have on the workers’ compensation world. Channeling justice Moschzisker, then a justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, in an opinion penned more than 100 years ago, I told them, “As far as I’m concerned, the coronavirus is a real snake in the grass.” Let me explain.
Mr. Robinson concludes that recovery is not likely to be permitted when the claim is pursued as an occupational disease. However, some employees, who work in certain occupations, may be more likely to recover when pursuing their claims as accidental injuries. Those occupations are largely the health care fields and employment that requires travel – particularly travel to regions where the virus is widespread. This is the “snake in the grass” theory of recovery.
Read the whole thing.
FOLIO
