The injured employee contracts Hepatitis C from a blood transfusion during surgery for a work-related injry. You are responsible for:

• A. temporary disability and permanent disability
• B. nothing, the Hepatitis C is not work related
• C. Medical treatment for the Hepatitis C
• D. the compensable consequence of the Hepatitis C

Answer: (D)

The main idea is that in California workers’ compensation, a condition that arises as a direct result of a work injury or its treatment is a compensable consequence. Here, the worker’s surgery for a work-related injury required a blood transfusion, and that transfusion led to Hepatitis C. Since the Hepatitis C was caused by the medical treatment of the work injury, it falls under compensable consequences. This means the employer/insurer is responsible for benefits related to the Hep C as a consequence of the original injury and its treatment. It’s not simply about medical treatment in isolation or about disability from the initial injury alone; it’s about the chain of causation from the work-related injury through its treatment to the resulting condition.