COVID-19 Occupational Workers' Comp Claims in NY

Martinez established the pathway. Long-COVID and post-acute claims are the volume now.

TL;DR

• The 2025 Martinez decision (Appellate Division Third Department) affirmed a COVID-19 occupational claim for a worker exposed at work. The pathway is established.
• Healthcare workers, first responders, transit workers, and others with documented occupational exposure during the pandemic — and now with long-COVID or post-acute sequelae — remain viable claims.
• Causation requires documented occupational exposure, documented infection, and medical narrative supporting the work connection.
• Late-developing conditions (cardiac, neurological, pulmonary, post-COVID fatigue syndrome) create separate claim possibilities even years later.

The Martinez framework

The 2025 ruling involved a worker (operating a pan boiler) who contracted COVID at work. The decision established that occupational exposure to COVID-19, properly documented and medically supported, is a recognized occupational disease pathway. The Court rejected the carrier’s various causation challenges.

The opinion does not require exclusive occupational exposure — community exposure does not destroy the claim. It requires that occupational exposure was a competent producing cause.

Documentation that matters

• Work environment documenting exposure — coworker/patient COVID positivity, workplace outbreak records
• Date of likely exposure with reference to incubation period
• Positive test result documenting infection
• Medical narrative connecting occupational exposure to infection
• Continuing symptoms or sequelae documenting disability or need for treatment

Long-COVID and post-acute sequelae

The bigger volume of current claims involves long-COVID conditions:

• Post-COVID fatigue syndrome
• Cognitive dysfunction (“brain fog”)
• Cardiac sequelae — arrhythmia, myocarditis, persistent tachycardia
• Pulmonary sequelae — persistent reduced exercise tolerance, pulmonary fibrosis
• Neurological — dysautonomia, POTS, persistent headache, anosmia
• Psychiatric — post-COVID anxiety, depression, PTSD

These conditions can emerge or persist years after acute infection. The occupational connection is supported by the same Martinez framework when initial exposure is documented as occupational.

Common occupational populations

• Healthcare workers — direct patient contact, particularly in the early pandemic period
• First responders — police, FDNY, EMS — patient contact and partner exposure
• Correction officers — facility outbreaks, inmate contact
• MTA and transit workers — public exposure, crew exposure
• Retail, food service, sanitation, education — public/coworker exposure

What the carrier pushes back on

• Community exposure causation — claim community exposure was the actual source
• No documented occupational outbreak at time of infection
• Pre-existing conditions explaining current symptoms attributed to COVID
• Long-COVID specificity — symptoms attributed to other diagnoses

What to do next

For acute COVID claims from 2020-2022, late notice may be an issue but is not automatically dispositive. For long-COVID claims emerging now, the documentation of original exposure and the medical narrative connecting current symptoms to COVID make the difference. Contact me directly.

Frequently asked questions

Are COVID-19 claims still viable in NY workers’ comp?

Yes. The 2025 Martinez ruling affirmed the occupational-disease pathway for COVID-19 in NY workers’ compensation. Healthcare workers, first responders, transit workers, and others with documented occupational exposure have viable claims, particularly for long-COVID and post-acute sequelae.

What documentation supports a COVID claim?

Documented occupational exposure (coworker/patient positivity, workplace outbreak records, date of likely exposure relative to incubation), positive test result, medical narrative connecting occupational exposure to infection, and documentation of continuing symptoms or sequelae.

Can I file a claim for long-COVID years after infection?

Yes, when long-COVID conditions can be tied back to documented occupational exposure. Late-developing conditions — cardiac, neurological, pulmonary, post-COVID fatigue syndrome — create separate compensability questions and may extend the realistic filing window.

Related pages

• FDNY EMS Workers’ Comp
• NYC Health + Hospitals
• MTA Workers
• PTSD and Mental Stress Claims
• Occupational lung disease
• Heart attack at work