Matt Chiaverotti is one of five members of the Virginia Beach Fire Department fighting cancer after hazardous exposures from the 2012 "Good Friday Miracle" crash.
Fairfax firefighters routinely denied workers comp after coronavirus infections, union says
Antonio Olivo, The Washington Post
Dec. 19, 2020
FacebookTwitterEmail
Firefighters battle a five-alarm fire in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County, Va., in February.photo for The Washington Post by Evelyn Hockstein.
Since March, about 100 of Fairfax County s firefighters and paramedics have tested positive for the coronavirus, which its union says is part of the hazard that comes with emergency calls involving residents who ve been infected, then sleeping in sometimes crowded fire stations for days at a time.
Yet, only 14 of those first responders have had Virginia-funded workers compensation benefits approved by the county, forcing those who ve had claims rejected to use their sick leave while recovering and to pay for some of their own medical expenses, the Fairfax firefighters union said.