Health Care Workers

In Simburger v Barnes Hospital, Injury No. 89-194476, (LIRC) 1997, claimant worked as a lab tech and histologist at Barnes Hospital. She contracted Hepatitis C and alleged occupational exposure. The evidence revealed that this claimant could not point to a specific incident where employee cut himself or stuck himself in such a fashion that he was exposed to the Hepatitis C virus at work. The ALJ denied compensation based upon lack of medical causation evidence. However, the commission reversed the ALJ’s denial and found the case compensable. The Commission noted that it was not necessary for claimant to establish a single event of exposure. Rather, it was sufficient to establish through medical evidence that thee was a link between the disease and the distinctive aspects of the job. This case highlights that there is a presumption that health care workers are exposed to infectious disease through their work.

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