Scoop: healthcare worker with lung covid wins court case, institution must compensate damage

The woman (28) became infected with the corona virus in April 2020. She stated that this happened during her work as a nurse in a home. In the case she brought against healthcare organization Fundis and liability insurer MS Amlin, the judge ruled that she has made it sufficiently plausible.

The nurse came into contact with patients without protective equipment who later turned out to be infected with corona. For example, the woman without a face mask had to treat a resident who ‘had snot running out’. She states that those face masks were in stock and has repeatedly insisted that they be allowed to wear them more often. However, the doctor on duty did not give permission for this. According to the institution’s policy, this was only allowed if there was a concrete suspicion of corona.

The court now rules that the healthcare institution put staff at unnecessary risk. Therefore, the damage that the woman suffered or will incur due to her infection must be compensated. The nurse has lung covid. According to Care Vision magazinewhich first published the news about the ruling on Wednesday, she is very tired, unable to work fully and needs help with the household.

Her lawyer Edwin Bosch is preparing a claim of possibly hundreds of thousands of euros. According to Bosch, it is the first time that a healthcare worker has won such a case. “It is extremely difficult to demonstrate that you contracted the infection at work. I am very happy that it worked out in this case.”

A spokesperson for insurer MS Amlin calls the case ‘unique’. “This situation occurred in the very early stages of the pandemic, within a month of the first lockdown. Government guidelines were missing, or they kept changing. Moreover, protective equipment was very scarce. As a result, employers were faced with an impossible task. We believe that Fundis did its utmost and acted carefully.”

However, no appeal has been lodged against the ruling. “In this specific case, the court ruled that the employee was really able to make it plausible that the infection took place at work. As a liability insurer, we will compensate the damage suffered and to be suffered.”

More healthcare workers are at home with lung covid. This month the unions CNV and FNV lost a case they brought against the state. The unions demanded a collective compensation scheme for these people, because they too sometimes had to do their work unprotected in the first wave. The judge then ruled, among other things, that employees must individually demonstrate that they became infected at work.

That has now happened for the first time. Kitty Jong, vice president of the FNV, calls the ruling ‘spectacular’. “This is really a precedent. Nevertheless, we are still committed to a collective arrangement. Not all people can demonstrate that they have been infected at work.”

Bosch says so too. “In this case, the nurse kept track of everything very carefully. This does not apply to all healthcare workers. In my view, a collective settlement for these people is still necessary. They stepped forward at a time when it was necessary, but are now left with the pieces.”

It is not only healthcare staff who are struggling with the long-term consequences of their corona infection. It is unknown how many Dutch people have lung covid, but it is estimated that there are at least many tens of thousands. According to research 1 in 8 people long-term complaints about a corona infection. These complaints vary from person to person. For example, many people suffer from forgetfulness and poor fitness. In some cases, the complaints are so serious that work and social life come to a complete standstill. There are no effective treatments yet.

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