For Susan Crowell, an occupational therapist, walking into patient rooms that day was part of the job. But the risks were enormous. It was March of 2020, and everyone knew the mysterious COVID-19 illness was spreading fast. One patient had a fever. Another had a bad cough.
Crowell could not locate a mask that Friday at the Needham skilled nursing facility where she worked, records recounting the events show. A supervisor told her she didn’t need one, she said. With trepidation, Crowell went in to care for her patients.
Within a week, she tested positive for COVID and today is still recuperating from long COVID. She is one of thousands of Massachusetts workers exposed to the virus on the job during this pandemic — and one of hundreds who’ve had to fight to be compensated for medical care and lost wages when they got sick.
“Maybe I’m naive, but I thought that workman's comp was there for when people get injured or sick at work,” Crowell said during an interview at her home. “I went in and did the same job that I’ve been doing for 15 years, and I got sick at work.”
A WBUR analysis of workers’ compensation claims filed with the Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents from January 2020 through the end of 2021 found that more than 12,700 claims were submitted for people who missed work due to alleged COVID exposure on the job. Many of those exposed to the virus were required to work because they were deemed essential workers, especially in health care but also in...
Nana, a former member of the group After School, announced the progress of the investigation into the home invasion robbery and resented that the perpetrator continued to make false claims without ...