Off The Record: Workers’ Compensation – COVID-19 Long Haulers

Video Transcript

All right. So, as the saying goes, I heard it on NPR. I heard a story this morning concerning COVID-19 victims and long haulers. And they were referring to people who are suffering the long-term effects of COVID-19 and whether or not they would be entitled to disability benefits or even workers’ compensation benefits. And the answer I think is yes. Let’s deal with the workers’ compensation issue first. So, of course, you would have to establish that you contracted COVID-19 in the workplace. Not an easy thing to do, but nevertheless, if you were able to establish that, any long-term effects that you had from COVID would be covered under workers’ compensation.

Now, you know, the long-term effects, you know, they run the gamut. You could have the illness, have it for a couple of weeks, and recover, and go back to, you know, full-term work without any issues. Some people, of course, die. That’s the other end of the spectrum, but some people, you know, may have long-term lung issues, or cardiac issues, or any whole host of things. You know, you always hear about people losing their sense of taste and sense of smell. That, of course, may not be a disabling condition, you know, unless you’re, like, a chef or something like that, but yeah. I think anything that stems from COVID that is disabling, that prevents you from working, would be something that you could claim under workers’ compensation and possibly lost wage benefits and also a social security disability claim if that condition prevents you from working. So, the answer is yes, these long haulers as they call them, could be entitled to ongoing benefits.

If you have questions about this, please give us a call at 631-582-3700, or you can check out our website at www.nydisabilitylaw.com. I’m Bill Turley, and thank you for listening today.