- Court
- New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department
- Case
- Matter of Dulay v. Oriska Insurance Company
- Date
- May 28, 2026
- Slip Op. No.
- 2026 NY Slip Op 03338
Background
In March 2020, the claimant’s father, a physical therapist assistant, was assigned to work with nursing home patients in the Bronx. He contracted COVID-19 in late March 2020, was admitted to a hospital on April 3, 2020, where he tested positive, and ultimately died on May 10, 2020. Shortly after his death, the claimant, his daughter, filed a death benefits claim on behalf of herself and her siblings under the Workers’ Compensation Law. She also filed a separate claim for lifetime benefits covering the period between the decedent’s hospitalization and death. Both claims were controverted by the workers’ compensation carrier. Following hearings, a Workers’ Compensation Law Judge established both claims, finding that the decedent contracted COVID-19 through workplace exposure to patients who had the virus. The Workers’ Compensation Board affirmed, and the carrier appealed.
Holding
The Appellate Division affirmed the Board’s decisions establishing both the death benefits claim and the lifetime claim. The Court held that substantial evidence supported the Board’s finding that the decedent’s death was causally related to his employment. The evidence established that the decedent worked directly with nursing home patients in the Bronx during the early and most deadly phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, that nursing homes were among the hardest-hit settings, and that the decedent contracted the virus within a timeframe consistent with workplace exposure. The Court found that the Board properly evaluated the causal connection between the decedent’s occupational exposure and his fatal illness, and that the carrier’s arguments challenging causation were insufficient to disturb the Board’s factual findings.
Takeaways
Workers’ compensation death benefits claims based on COVID-19 contracted in the workplace require proof of a causal connection between the employment and the disease. Healthcare workers who contracted COVID-19 while treating patients during the pandemic may establish the necessary causal link through evidence of workplace exposure to infected individuals, the timing of symptom onset relative to exposure, and the absence of equally probable non-occupational sources of infection. The Board’s factual findings on causation are entitled to substantial deference on appeal and will be upheld if supported by substantial evidence in the record.
Why It Matters
This decision is significant for workers’ compensation law as it addresses the continuing wave of claims arising from COVID-19 deaths among healthcare workers during the pandemic. The ruling provides a framework for evaluating causation in occupational COVID-19 death claims, particularly for workers in high-risk settings such as nursing homes and hospitals. The decision confirms that the Board may draw reasonable inferences about workplace exposure from the circumstances of employment, the known prevalence of COVID-19 in the workplace setting, and the timing of the worker’s illness. As these claims continue to be litigated, this decision establishes important precedent on the evidentiary standards for establishing work-relatedness of COVID-19 infections contracted in healthcare settings.