Can a tick bite be considered an accident at work?
In the first eight months of last year alone, there were over 7,000 cases of Lyme disease and 90 cases of tick-borne encephalitis. Ticks attack mainly in spring and summer – that is, during the period of intensified outdoor activities.
Forestry, agriculture, tourism, but also construction, gastronomy and even trade – representatives of, inter alia, these industries are particularly exposed to the risk of tick bites during the summer, and therefore also the sometimes very serious consequences of diseases caused by them. According to Andrzej Bączkowski, an expert on occupational safety at W&W Consulting, if exposure to a bite in a given industry is highly probable, the employer should provide employees with protection measures in advance – including properly selected work clothes and insect repellent skin. Importantly – the so-called repellers, but also special tools for removing ticks and disinfectants should be available at the workplace or be part of the employee’s equipment and first aid kits. – On the other hand, it is also crucial to properly train and make employees aware of the risk and how to deal with a tick bitten into the skin. Therefore, employers should prepare the so-called safety system by describing appropriate procedures in the event of a bite – concerning actions immediately after the incident, but also clear procedures in the event of the emergence or suspected occurrence of diseases transmitted by ticks.
A separate issue is the management of any of the tick-borne diseases, e.g. Lyme disease. In such a situation, it is necessary to initiate activities related to the suspicion of occupational diseases. The suspicion should be reported to the competent sanitary inspector, who directs the employee for appropriate examinations to the so-called 1st degree certifying unit, i.e. e.g. occupational diseases clinics of voivodeship occupational medicine centers, where a competent doctor decides about an occupational disease on the basis of an examination and the employee’s professional documentation provided by the employer.
Another issue is the interpretation of the bite as an accident at work or on the way to work. In the case of a documented bite and the occurrence of a sudden reaction of the body as a result of it – e.g. in the case of tick-borne encephalitis, symptoms will appear on the same day – the employee has a chance to recognize the event as an accident at work, although it is not firmly established in legal jurisprudence. – However, if we assume that an employee has „hard” evidence of a tick attack during work and if he develops a tick-borne disease – then he / she has the right to apply for benefits for accidents at work and occupational diseases, provided by the Social Insurance Institution. In the case of immediate or short-term benefits, it may be sickness or compensatory benefit, rehabilitation benefit or one-off compensation. If it is a permanent benefit, it may be a disability pension or a nursing supplement. In the event of an extreme situation of the employee’s death as a result of an accident or occupational disease, the family may also receive benefits from ZUS, such as one-time compensation or survivors’ pension with a full orphan’s pension.
If the employer took into account the risk associated with ticks, described them, informed employees about it and adequately secured them, then the employee – apart from the above-mentioned benefits – cannot apply directly to the employer for any benefits – this only applies to labor law. On the other hand, in civil law, he can demand basically everything from the employer – and the court will objectively determine whether it is due to him.
Source: W&W Consulting
Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.
