If you live or work in Southern California, you know it has been hot.  Temps have soared into the triple digits.  One of our clients reported she saw a dog chasing a cat, and it was so hot they were both walking! Certain occupations may be more at risk for heat related injury and illness…roofers being high on the list.

Some cases have held that if the general population is equally exposed to a hazard (bee stings, for example or the flu) then injury or illness from that hazard is not compensable.

What should the result be, however, when a hospital worker gets a serious case of influenza, or a gardener has an allergic reaction to a bee sting, or an office worker passes out from the heat in the employer’s parking lot? Weigh in on how YOU would analyze these or similar scenarios.