Court Affirms Workers' Comp for Woman Who Blames Blindness on Flu Vaccine

BOSTON - The Appeals Court of Massachusetts held Jan. 18 that workers' compensation judges did not abuse their discretion either in awarding benefits to a woman who blames her blindness on a company-sponsored flu vaccination or in allowing her expert to testify. Hicks v. Boston Medical Center, No. 03-P-1370 (Mass. App. Ct.).

Medical technician Carolyn R. Hicks sought workers' compensation benefits from the self-insured Boston Medical Center after losing her sight in late 1996. Hicks received a flu shot in her employer's lobby on Oct. 15, 1996 and complained the next day of eye irritation, according to the Court of …