COVID-19 and Georgia Workers' Compensation Claims

I have fielded a number of calls and emails about how Georgia Workers' Compensation law will address workers who claim that they contracted the coronavirus/COVID-19 in the workplace.  Generally speaking, such claims will usually NOT be deemed compensable.  The reason is our very strict occupational disease statute in Georgia, O.C.G.A. § 34-9-280(2) which defines "occupational disease" very narrowly.  Here's the text of the statute:

 "Occupational disease" means those diseases which arise out of and in the course of the particular trade, occupation, process, or employment in which the employee is exposed to such disease, provided the employee or the employee's dependents first prove to the satisfaction of the State Board of Workers' Compensation all of the following:

(A) A direct causal connection between the conditions under which the work is performed and the disease;

(B) That the disease followed as a natural incident of exposure by reason of the employment;

(C) That the disease is not of a character to which the employee may have had substantial exposure outside of the employment;

(D) That the disease is not an ordinary disease of life to which the general public is exposed;

(E) That the disease must appear to have had its origin in a risk connected with the employment and to have flowed from that source as a natural consequence.

For the purposes of this paragraph, partial loss of hearing due to noise shall not be considered an occupational disease. Psychiatric and psychological problems and heart and vascular diseases shall not be considered occupational diseases, except where they arise from a separate occupational disease.  

Note that the Employee bears the burden of proving ALL FIVE of these requirements.  Requirement "A" requires the employee to prove a direct causal relationship between the employment and the disease, and requirement "D" requires the employee to show that the disease isn't the type of disease the general public is exposed to.  In my view, those two requirements will make proving a work-related COVID-19 claim almost impossible.  

Further, requirement "C" requires the worker to prove that the disease isn't something you'd usually see outside of the workplace.  This is why we see coal workers having compensable black lung claims or textile workers having compensable byssinosis claims.  You just don't see those diseases outside of their respective unique occupational settings.  

So if you are confronted with a Georgia workers' compensation claim for COVID-19, carefully scrutinize the case to see if all five of these requirements are met.  It is difficult for me to envision any scenario where the answer would be "yes."  

If you have such a case and would like to discuss it, please contact me at your convenience.