Matter of Hahnenfeld v Good Samaritan Hosp.

Holding The Appellate Division affirmed the Workers’ Compensation Board’s denial of the claimant’s request to amend her claim to include Long COVID, finding substantial evidence supported the determination that she failed to prove a causal connection between her April 2020 work-related infection and her later symptoms. The court noted that the claimant’s second, non-work-related infection and preexisting conditions complicated the medical evidence regarding causality.

The court’s words

substantial evidence supports the Board's determination that there was insufficient evidence that claimant's Long COVID was causally related to her April 2020 work-related COVID-19 infection

2026 NY Slip Op 06601, at the official text

the Board is empowered to determine the factual issue of whether a causal relationship exists based upon the record, and its determination will not be disturbed when supported by substantial evidence

2026 NY Slip Op 06601, at the official text

claimant bears the burden of establishing, by competent medical evidence, a causal connection or relationship between her employment and the claimed disability

2026 NY Slip Op 06601, at the official text