Covid-19 and industrial disease

An inquest has ruled that two nurses who contracted Covid-19 at the beginning of the pandemic most likely contracted it at work and died from industrial disease.

These are the first cases to find that Covid-19 is an industrial disease, taking its place alongside more well-known industrial diseases such as those relating to asbestos and industrial deafness.

Employers may be worried that this will open a floodgate of cases for employees who believe they contracted the disease at work. This seems unlikely. Civil claims would be based in negligence, involving allegations that an employer has not taken reasonable care in relation to the health and safety of employees. Employers who conduct risk assessments and identify any health and safety risks – Covid-19 or otherwise – and take protective measures to guard against those risks are unlikely to be negligent.

Following the government guidance in relation to Covid-19 will also be relevant to the question of ‘reasonable care’. Employers who took appropriate steps during the pandemic have little to fear from this finding in relation to two tragic cases at the very beginning of the pandemic when far less was known about the risks posed by the Covid-19 pathogen.