For years I have spoken at various conferences, seminars and speaking engagements at associations representing both injured workers and employers. I have discussed how workers’ compensation is an area of law that, whether we are aware of it or not, impacts (and is noted in) our everyday lives many times a day, week and month. Most of the general public is not even aware of this hidden impact of workers’ compensation on their lives.
Starting in 2021, we will be developing a new blog to highlight the importance of workers’ compensation and how it impacts your everyday life regardless of whether or not you are injured at work. It is hoped that the more you understand the importance of workers’ compensation and how it impacts your day-to-day life, the more you will understand how the attacks on the system can impact your everyday life.
How will we do this you ask? All we have to do is review the front page of the newspaper, check out our favorite sports, read up on the current business trends, or note the current social media trends. We will then point out the workers' compensation influence on these topics.
To start we will look at sports and a headline from Skysports.
Newcastle duo Jamaal Lascelles and Allan Saint-Maximin suffering long-term effects from Covid-19
The Newcastle football club has seen their captain, Jamaal Lascelles, and key players such as Allan Saint-Maximin forced to sit out games as they suffer from the long-term effects of COVID-19, which they contracted during an outbreak on the team. The outbreak affected more than 10 individuals in the club. Because the COVID-19 was contracted during a team event, the COVID-19 diagnosis of all the employees who contracted it is a work-related injury and would be covered by England’s workers’ compensation laws.
The COVID-19 symptoms Lascelles and Saint-Maximin are experiencing have precluded the two players from training since they contracted the virus. The two players last played for Newcastle on November 21, 2020, which was more than 30 days ago. Newcastle has not had the availability of ten employees, including their captain. They have been unable to work their physically demanding jobs. The same is true of many of our American football players who have contracted COVID-19, causing the teams' facilities to shut down and the players to quarantine, missing practices and games.
Even though these two Newcastle players are young and fit athletes, they are feeling the impact of what is termed "long COVID." As their coach noted:
"It's frightening when you think they are young and fit and absolutely supreme athletes. If anybody needs reminding of how serious this is, then we have witnessed it. . . .
"That long-term Covid is something which you wouldn't think possible in young, fit, athletes. Unfortunately, it is so.
"They go for a walk for half an hour and then they want to go back to bed. It's as brutal as that. The fatigue is the one thing that has hit them all. For two of them, it's beyond that. We hope there's light at the end of the tunnel, but some are finding it a struggle.”
The above illustrates the importance of the medical care these athletes will get from the English workers’ compensation system to help them with their symptoms including fatigue and wage replacement. It will also help them with the very scary long-term impact of COVID-19 on healthy, fit, athletic individuals who had mild or no initial COVID-19 symptoms.
What should I do if I contracted COVID-19 on the job?
Workers’ compensation and COVID-19 have impacted the Newcastle football club, their fans and the families of those infected players.
Should you be suffering from the long-term effects of COVID-19 you contracted at work, you should seek the advice of our experienced workers' compensation attorneys. At the law office of McLaughlin & Sanchez, APC, the attorneys have more than 30 years of combined experience. Combined with our staff, we are here to assist you regarding your workers’ compensation claim. We can be reached by telephone, email or instant chat on our web page.