Earthquakes And Workers’ Comp?

There was a horrible earthquake in Italy this past weekend. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families. Under worker’s comp law, an earthquake would be an “Act of Nature,” and someone hurt from an earthquake while working wouldn’t necessarily be entitled to worker’s comp benefits. A risk analysis may need to be done (i.e., whether the job increased the risk of the injury from the quake). As you can imagine, this issue has not risen in AZ due to our lack of earthquakes (thank goodness!). Please let us know if you have any questions or comments about this topic, worker’s comp, Social Security Disability, or employment law.