Filing a Psych Claim for Your Workers’ Comp Case

Psychiatric injury claims, also referred to as stress claims or mental health claims, are based on work conditions that are stressful enough to impair one’s ability to perform their job duties. Thus, a worker is granted time to recover from the harmful environment, which may be a result of threats, harassment, being overworked, and other mentally taxing behavior from the employer. Mental breakdowns are not uncommon in these situations, which may be used as grounds for a worker’s compensation psychiatric injury claim.

There are many challenges with proving a case for work-related psychological injuries. This is largely based on the fact that mental health conditions are based on feelings, thoughts, and internal experiences. These are not symptoms that are visible or diagnosed through lab tests, and that’s why you are likely to face resistance from your employer’s WC insurance company.

We also have to recognize that emotional injuries have many different causes, and a lot of these issues may not have anything to do with your job. Losing a loved one, a failing marriage, and many other circumstances in your life can lead to mental health disorders. This is a common argument used by employers to deny claims that are based on psychological injuries.

Making a case for workers’ comp for a mental illness or disorder requires proof of the following elements:

• You have been diagnosed with a “mental disorder” from a licensed therapist.
• Your acquired necessary medical expenses as a result of your disorder.
• The mental health condition you are experiencing caused enough of a disability to interfere with your ability to work.
• You have been working for your current employer for 6 months or longer.

In addition, you’ll need to show that your job is the “predominant” reason for why you ended up with a psychological injury. This is very important, as it’s more than likely that your job is not the only source of stress, anxiety, and other mental health issues in your life. The key is to prove that your work duties / workplace is at least 51% responsible for the disorder you are diagnosed with. The percentage may be lowered to 35% to 40% in cases where the mental disorder was caused by a “significant violent act” at work.

A psychiatric claim for workers’ comp benefits is dependent on your ability to establish that “actual events of employment” is the main cause of you affliction. So, what counts as an actual event of employment?

There is no single answer to this question, as it’s based on many issues that are specific to your workplace and what you do at your job. However, the events must be in direct correlation with your job duties or related to harassment and other psychologically harmful behavior while you are at work. So, if you are experiencing anxiety because your company’s drop in stock price may lead to layoffs, it’s unlikely that you would qualify to receive workers’ comp benefits.

If, on the other hand, you are constantly subjected to unfair treatment in the workplace, like denial of pay raises and promotions, work privileges / benefits, bullying by your coworkers and intimidation by supervisors, you may have a case for workers’ comp based on psychiatric injuries.

Benefits you can receive from a psychiatric injury workers’ comp claim are not as comprehensive as benefits for a physical injury. Essentially, you would be entitled to coverage for your medical expenses and time off to recover from your mental health disorder (temporary disability payments).

Permanent disability payments are very difficult to obtain from a worker’s comp claim. This is based on the idea that your work environment is the main source of your affliction. So, if you leave the environment, that gives you a chance to recover and get to the point where you can go back to work. Even if you quit your job, the general assumption is that you can continue to work, since you are removed from the environment that was harming you psychologically. Overall, it’s quite rare that a workplace injury claim based on mental health issues will result in permanent disability payments.

Quite a few of the clients we represent suffered psychological trauma from a job-related accident. It’s easier to claim benefits for a mental health injury in these situations, considering that a workplace accident is an “actual event of employment.” It’s also worth noting that the link between serious injuries and mental health disorders has been studied for many years, so you already have a solid foundation of medical evidence to lean on.

Psychological damage caused by work injuries are known as “compensable consequence injuries,” since they are a consequence of bodily harm. Common examples of compensable consequence injuries include severe anxiety, sleep disorders, and sexual dysfunction.

Guidance from an experienced attorney is critical when you are seeking WC benefits for a psychiatric injury. That’s why we urge you to contact our law firm and schedule a free consultation with our legal team.

As part of the Zero Fee Guarantee, we promise that you will never pay out of pocket for legal services. We represent all clients on a contingency basis and only get paid if you receive compensation from a successful legal case. Thus, we can promise that you won’t be responsible for any legal fees if your workers’ compensation case is not resolved in your favor.

We look forward to hearing your story and fighting for your rights to workers’ compensations benefits.

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