Compensation for a Nurse Who Has Been Infected With Hepatitis C

In Jeannette District Memorial Hospital v. Workmen's Compensation Appeal Board (Mesich), 668 A.2d 249, 251 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1995), the Court considered whether a nurse was properly awarded compensation for hepatitis C in 1995 under the 1972 version of Section 108. The Court found that the nurse's hepatitis infection, namely non-A, non-B hepatitis (hepatitis C), was "infectious hepatitis," as that term is used in Section 108 of the Act. Further, her work as a nurse in the intensive care unit, where she was exposed to blood and bodily fluids, entitled her to the statutory presumption. The Court disagreed with the employer's argument that the nurse had to prove exposure to the hepatitis virus in a discrete incident. Because the employer could not rebut the presumption, claimant was awarded compensation.