Appeals Court Upholds Denial of Nurse's Long COVID Claim
A New York appeals court affirmed the state Workers' Compensation Board's decision to reverse a long COVID amendment to a hospital nurse's claim.
Updated on Nov. 13, 2026 in Nursing Jobs
A New York appeals court has affirmed the Workers' Compensation Board's reversal of an amendment adding long COVID to a hospital nurse's workers compensation claim. The board cited insufficient evidence of causation linking the condition to a April 2020 workplace infection.
Why it matters
The ruling shows that a workplace COVID-19 infection alone does not establish that later long-term symptoms are compensable, and that medical causation must be proven. For health workers in New York who contracted the virus on the job, it clarifies the evidentiary bar for long COVID claims.
The original claim authorized medical treatment and about one month of lost-time benefits, while the long COVID amendment was reversed in May 2025 for insufficient causation evidence. Whether any additional medical causation evidence will emerge after the appeals court ruling is not addressed in the record.
The players
Good Samaritan Hospital
A hospital in New York where the nurse worked and contracted COVID-19 during the pandemic.
The details
A registered nurse at Good Samaritan Hospital contracted COVID-19 at work in April 2020, and a workers compensation law judge later established the claim in 2022. A judge subsequently amended the claim to add long COVID, after a treating neurologist diagnosed the condition; other physicians attributed the symptoms to inflammation and preexisting musculoskeletal conditions. The Workers' Compensation Board reversed the amendment, and the appeals court affirmed that decision.
Timeline
April 2020: The nurse contracted COVID-19 at work.
2022: A law judge established the workers compensation claim.
May 2025: The board reversed the long COVID amendment.
November 12, 2026: The appeals court affirmed the board's decision.
Roadmap
The decision applies New York's existing workers compensation causation standard to long COVID, a condition that many states have been working to fit within older occupational disease frameworks. It signals that claimants will need strong medical proof linking later symptoms to the original workplace infection.
Health workers in New York who develop lingering symptoms after a workplace COVID-19 infection may need detailed medical causation evidence to pursue a workers compensation claim. Waiting to document symptoms and their timeline with physicians can affect whether a claim is accepted.
The takeaway
Workers compensation claims for long-term conditions depend on proving medical causation, not just a workplace exposure. Employees filing for newly recognized conditions should gather treating-physician records that address how symptoms connect to the original incident.
Further reading
For related coverage of the nursing field, see Nursing Jobs.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Business Insurance.
