It has been reported that a second nurse who had cared for the Ebola patient in a Texas hospital who subsequently died from the symptoms has also contracted the disease. The Texas Department of State Health Services released a statement on Oct. 15 verifying this, but since that time, it has been confirmed that the young nurse had taken a flight from Dallas to Cleveland after contracting the disease. It is unclear if she showed any symptoms during the flight.
The nurse is the second health care worker who contracted Ebola while attending to a victim who later died. The first diagnosed nurse was a 26-year-old woman who thanked Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital’s staff for helping her recover. The nurses were two of the initial 76 individual hospital employees who were in contact with the Ebola patient. The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continue to monitor all 76.
The director of Dallas Health and Human Services said it would be no surprise if the number of confirmed Ebola cases continued to rise. Health care employees, however, are not the only ones facing workplace safety hazards. The airline crew on the flight to Cleveland was also exposed to the disease.
It has consistently been reported in the news that Ebola is not easy to catch, but two nurses working for the same hospital contracted the disease. When people contract a disease or are injured in some way while at work, they may be able to recover compensation under workers’ compensation laws. Benefits provided by workers’ compensation may include direct payment or reimbursement of medical expenses as well as a percentage of the salary lost while the person was unable to work.
Source: WBIR.com, “Second TX health-care worker tests positive for Ebola”, Rick Jervis and Doug Stanglin, October 15, 2014