(a) In the case of the death of a health care worker, a worker described in Section 3212, or a worker described in Section 830.5 of the Penal Code from an HIV-related disease, the period within which proceedings may be commenced for the collection of benefits provided by Article 4 (commencing with Section 4700) of Chapter 2 of Part 2 is one year from the date of death, providing that one or more of the following events has occurred:
(1) A report of the injury or exposure was made to the employer or to a governmental agency authorized to administer industrial injury claims, within one year of the date of the injury.
(2) The worker has complied with the notice provisions of this chapter and the claim has not been finally determined to be noncompensable.
(3) The employer provided, or was ordered to provide, workers’ compensation benefits for the injury prior to the date of death.
(b) For the purposes of this section, “health care worker” means an employee who has direct contact, in the course of his or her employment, with blood or other bodily fluids contaminated with blood, or with other bodily fluids identified by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health as capable of transmitting HIV, who is either (1) any person who is an employee of a provider of health care, as defined in Section 56.05 of the Civil Code, including, but not limited to, a registered nurse, licensed vocational nurse, certified nurse aide, clinical laboratory technologist, dental hygienist, physician, janitor, or housekeeping worker, or (2) an employee who provides direct patient care.
(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 444, Sec. 21. (SB 138) Effective January 1, 2014.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018