Alaska Supreme Court Upholds Termination of Benefits for HIV-Exposure Claim

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska’s high court has affirmed a hospital’s decision to terminate benefits for a nurse accidentally splashed with fluids from an HIV-positive patient after she declined to return to patient care after being cleared to return to work. Runstrom v. Alaska Native Medical Center, et al., No. S-14294 (Alaska Sup. Ct.).

The Supreme Court acknowledged July 20 that the Alaska Workers’ Compensation Appeals Commission applied an outdated analysis in upholding an administrative ruling on the claim for additional benefits, but said that the commission held the employer to a higher standard and there was substantial evidence to support …