Virginia Workers Compensation Attorney Joe Miller here urges all citizens of the Commonwealth to contact their State Senators and Delegates and urge them to pass legislation that enables any Healthcare worker who gets sick with COVID-19 to seek benefits under the Virginia Workers Compensation System. We need a law that creates a presumption that any Healthcare worker who is exposed to COVID-19 as part of their job got it at work and therefore has a compensable claim. Under the laws in Virginia as they exist now, it is virtually impossible for a Healthcare worker who becomes ill from COVID-19 to obtain any benefits under our workers compensation system. This is because it is a virus and therefore considered an “ordinary disease of life.” Isn’t this the least we can do for these brave heroes who put themselves and their loved ones at risk each day by helping us battle this terrible, invisible enemy? Please contact your State Delegate and Senator NOW while they are in session. The Governor could also issue an Executive Order.. Several other states have already recognized this problem and provided workers compensation presumptions for their Healthcare workers. Virginia needs to get on board.
