Workers Compensation Attorney Joe Miller talks about Virginia Senate Bill 5066, which proposes to create a legal presumption for all police, firefighters, first Responders and healthcare providers in the Commonwealth that if he or she contracted COVID-19, then it is presumed to have been contracted on the job, and accordingly, is compensable as an occupational disease. Most importantly, the bill, as proposed, would be retroactive to provide this presumption to any worker in one of these occupations who became ill from COVID-19 at any time after January 1, 2020. Although some folks who have already taken their COVID cases to hearing in Virginia have prevailed, the majority have not.
If this bill passes, it will become much easier for our favorite heroes during this pandemic to bring a claim if they got ill with COVID while performing their jobs. Mr. Miller therefore urges you to contact your Virginia State Delegates and Senators and urge them to support Senate Bill 5066. Finally, Mr. Miller advises that the firm is currently accepting serious COVID-19 illness cases for workers in the categories enumerated in the proposed Bill, which are once again, police, firefighters, first responders, and healthcare Providers.
If you worked in one of these occupations in the Commonwealth and continue to suffer from lasting effects due to your COVID-19 illness, or if a loved one who worked in one of these occupations has tragically passed due at least in part to COVID-19, please do not hesitate to contact us about making a workers compensation claim. We can begin gathering information and records now, even though we would prefer to wait to file the claim until this bill hopefully passes into law. If it passes as currently proposed, it will retroactively cover you or your deceased loved one’s dependents. We certainly want to provide you or your loved one’s dependents with the best chance of prevailing and obtaining compensation and quite possibly, a substantial monetary settlement.
