THE COMPENSABILITY OF A WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIM AS A RESULT OF CORONAVIRUS.

 

With the spread of coronavirus to Tennessee, there are many implications for businesses well beyond the scope of Workers’ Compensation. However, one of the most common areas of concern has been whether an employer would have liability under workers’ compensation if an employee contracts Coronavirus at work.

 

The Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Act defines an “injury” to include an occupational disease arising out of and in the course and scope of employment that causes the need for medical treatment, provided that it is identifiable by a specific incident or series of incidents which are identifiable by time and place of occurrence and must be shown to a reasonable degree of medical certainty as long as it is shown by a preponderance of the evidence or greater than 50% that the work environment contributed more than 50% in causing the injury, considering all causes. See T.C.A. 50-6-102(14).