Thiele v. Select Med. Corp.

Summary

The Nebraska Supreme Court reversed summary judgment for Select Medical and remanded because the record presented a genuine issue of material fact whether Christine Thiele's COVID-19 infection in early 2020 was a compensable occupational disease or an ordinary disease of life. The court held that the analysis must focus on the circumstances during the period of exposure in 2020, rather than COVID-19's prevalence at the 2022 summary judgment hearing. The plurality's reasoning did not receive majority support for establishing binding precedent on the compensability of COVID-19 as an occupational disease.