New Jersey Attorneys at the Law Firm of Levinson Axelrod, P.a. Are Helping Essential Workers Who Contracted COVID-19 File Workers’ File Claims.
Following Gov. Phil Murphy’s re-declaration of a Public Health Emergency on January 11, 2022, essential workers in New Jersey are once again entitled to a legal presumption that makes it easier for them to obtain workers’ compensation benefits after contracting COVID-19.
Given the latest development, Levinson Axelrod, P.A. is again reviewing potential claims from essential workers and families across New Jersey who wish to seek benefits.
A leader in the field, the award-winning firm litigated some of the state’s first COVID-related workers’ compensation claims in 2020 and early 2021, and successfully settled one of New Jersey’s first COVID-19 occupational death claims when it recovered $550,000 for the spouse of a warehouse worker who died from COVID.
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Public Health Emergency Reactivates COVID Workers’ Comp Presumption
On January 11, 2022, Gov. Phil Murphy reinstated a Public Health Emergency to bolster the state’s response to the Omicron variant of COVID-19. In addition to providing Gov. Murphy with the ability to exercise emergency powers, the Public Health Emergency also reinstates a law that covers certain workers diagnosed with COVID-19.
The law, initially signed by Gov. Murphy in September 2020 and made retroactive to March 9, 2020, created a presumption that any “essential worker” diagnosed with COVID would be covered by workers’ compensation unless the employer could prove the worker was not exposed to the virus at work. This presumption law remained in effect until the Public Health Emergency declared by the Governor was lifted on July 3, 2021.
This means that from 3/9/2020 to 7/3/2021, essential workers diagnosed with COVID-19 were able to benefit from the presumption, while essential workers who contracted COVID between 7/4/2021 to 1/10/2022 are not entitled to the presumption and must therefore prove that they contracted COVID-19 through their employment.
Now that the Governor has again declared a Public Health Emergency, the essential worker COVID presumption law has been reenacted, allowing those defined as “essential employees” to benefit from the presumption until the current Public Health Emergency is lifted.
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Are You Entitled to Workers’ Comp Benefits After Contracting COVID?
If you are seeking benefits for COVID occupational exposure, you may benefit from New Jersey’s presumption law if you contracted COVID-19 during a Public Health Emergency (i.e. from January 11, 2022 to the date the current state of emergency is lifted) and:
- Are a First Responder or Public Safety Worker;
- Provide medical or other health care services;
- Perform a job that requires physical proximity to the public; or
- Are any other worker deemed an essential employee by the state of New Jersey.
Levinson Axelrod, P.A. Serves Essential Workers Statewide
Levinson Axelrod, P.A. is a nationally recognized law firm that has been fighting for injured workers and families across New Jersey since 1939.
With multiple New Jersey Supreme Court Certified Workers’ Compensation Specialists on staff, the firm has been a leader in litigating occupational exposure cases involving COVID-19. Early in the pandemic, the firm successfully resolved one of the first cases of its kind when it prevailed in securing benefits for a corrections officer who contracted COVID-19 at work. The firm also settled one of the first COVID-related death claims for $550,000 on behalf of the spouse of a warehouse worker who died from COVID.
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