Can Workers’ Compensation Cover Stress-Related Mental Health Issues Developed at Work? Can you file for workers’ comp benefits if your boss is a complete jerk who has caused you so much stress that you’re ready to pull your hair out? We’re here to answer that question and provide you with more information about workers’ comp for mental health and stress-related claims at work.
The vast majority of workers’ comp. claims are filed by people who sustain physical injuries — for example, a separated shoulder, a low back sprain, or a broken foot. But Pennsylvania workers’ comp. law does not limit claims to workers who suffer physical injuries — under certain circumstances, a person’s mental (or psychological) condition – depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder to name a few — can entitle them to workers’ comp. benefits.
But it is much easier to receive workers’ comp. benefits for a physical injury than a mental injury. With a physical injury caused by a physical stimulus or trigger (you were lifting a heavy box, you slipped on a floor and fell), you only have to prove that the injury happened in the course of your employment and that the injury has prevented you from performing the duties of your job.
However, if you claim that you sustained a mental injury as a result of a mental stimulus, you must show that the injury was caused by abnormal working conditions. In other words, if you assert that something non-physical (you were harassed by a supervisor, you were sexually assaulted, you were held up at gunpoint) has caused you to develop a psychological injury, you must establish that you were exposed to what the Pennsylvania courts have described as abnormal working conditions. One of the ways this can be established is by showing that you were subjected to an extraordinarily distressing event; being the victim of a sexual assault or held up by a robber with a gun is significant enough to fall into this category.
It is not as clear cut, though, if you claim a mental stimulus caused a mental injury but it is not a one-time traumatic event; instead, it occurred over a period of time — weeks, months, or years.
Our courts have made it clear that it is not enough that you feel stress and anxiety because you have a heavy workload, are under a lot of pressure, and have a demanding boss. The rationale is that work is inherently stressful – people are overworked and have supervisors who are unforgiving and critical. If a person could obtain workers’ comp. benefits based on these factors, the flood gates would open, and many, many workers would file stress claims.
If you claim that you developed a psychological injury due to a prolonged pattern of harassment and abuse by your supervisor, you will have a chance at prevailing because this goes well beyond just having a difficult boss. Under this scenario, your entitlement to workers’ comp. benefits will depend on several factors, including the severity of the conduct, if there was a sexual component to it, and whether any of your co-workers can corroborate the conduct. For example, if your workers’ comp lawyer presents the testimony of three of your co-workers before the Workers’ Compensation Judge that they witnessed your supervisor frequently making crude sexual comments towards you, this will significantly strengthen your chances of winning. Unfortunately, the lawyer for the insurance company may present testimony from your supervisor and other employees of your employer in an attempt to rebut the testimony of you and your co-workers. After all the evidence has been presented, the Judge will issue a written decision, determining which witnesses provided credible testimony, and whether you met your burden of establishing that you experienced abnormal working conditions that caused you to develop a psychological injury.
The courts have also ruled that the determination of whether working conditions are abnormal must take into account the person’s specific employment. Let’s say that you worked at a store and when you were opening up one day, you saw a dead body on the floor. Understandably, this freaked you out, causing severe anxiety and preventing you from working. You would have a potentially viable claim for abnormal working conditions because that would be a very unusual occurrence for somebody who works at a store to experience. But a police officer who routinely sees dead bodies when going to homicide scenes would not be able to pursue a workers’ comp. claim for a psychological injury because, as callous it may sound, this is a normal part of a police officer’s job responsibilities.
The law is different if you allege a mental injury as a result of a physical injury — for example, if you experience depression because a debilitating back injury has caused you significant pain and greatly limited your activities. If this happens to you, and you are required to undergo treatment with a psychiatrist or psychologist, the bills can be submitted to the workers’ comp. insurance company for your employer; you don’t have to prove abnormal working conditions because the original stimulus that gave rise to your injury was physical, not mental. Of course, this doesn’t mean the insurance company will voluntarily pay the bills. It may deny the bills and force your workers’ comp lawyer to file a petition, which will go before the Judge. The insurance company will probably send you to a psychiatrist or psychologist for an evaluation, which is supposed to be independent but usually is not. Ultimately, the Judge will have to decide if you sustained a psychological injury that is related to the original physical injury which you suffered.
Workers’ comp. cases are always complicated, especially if you allege mental injuries that are related to your job. Regardless of whether you have sustained mental or physical injuries — or both — it is imperative that you hire a top-notch workers’ comp lawyer to fight the insurance company. Look no further than Pearson Koutcher Law. At our firm, workers’ comp. is all we do, 100 percent of the time. Every workers’ comp attorney in the firm has represented injured workers for more than 25 years. Please call us today for a free comprehensive consultation and let us put our knowledge and experience to work for you.