Can I Receive Workers' Compensation for Mental or Emotional Injuries

For a long time, workers’ compensation benefits have helped employees find some financial help for work-related bodily harm. Physical damage or harm is actually not the only sort of pain a workplace can cause. 

Psychological damage, which is serious and can be devastating, is another risk that comes with certain jobs. Though some employers don’t take mental distress seriously, that doesn’t decrease the suffering of psychologically distressed workers. If the nature of your work has caused you emotional pain, you might wonder whether or not you’re entitled to workers’ compensation.

Mental distress and workers’ comp

Workers’ comp exists to aid injured employees that were hurt on the job. Though it does not prevent accidents, the benefits might serve as a bandage to help employees get through the damage they have already sustained.

In many places, statutes lack clarity concerning mental injury and workers’ comp. California, however, is ahead of the game. The state does indeed have clearly defined laws establishing that work-related psychiatric damage might make you eligible for workers’ comp. California Labor Code section 3208.3 requires the following things for you to be eligible for workers’ comp:

• A doctor must diagnose you with a mental disorder.

• Your mental disorder requires medical treatment or causes disability.

• You need to establish that your employment caused this mental disorder.

• You worked for your employer for at least six months, or the event that caused the disorder was sudden and extreme.

Making your case

Some of the above points are easy to prove while others are more difficult to establish. For instance, it might be challenging to verify that your work, and not any other outside issue, was the source of your mental disorder. If you’ve acquired a work-related mental disorder, an attorney with experience in handling these types of claims might be able to help you determine what you should do next in this case.

A work injury that is purely psychological is sometimes referred to as a "stress claim" or a "mental-mental claim." In both of these types of cases, an employee has suffered mental or emotional injuries, usually as a result of stressful conditions at work. These injuries could force workers to take time off work and may leave them unable to perform certain tasks, such as concentrating at work or communicating with others. For example, if you suffer a mental breakdown after being overworked to the point of exhaustion or subjected to threats at work, your condition might qualify as a psychiatric injury under workers' comp.

California workers' comp system treats psychiatric injuries differently than physical injuries. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, psychological injuries are based on employees' internal experiences (which is their thoughts and feelings). There aren't good objective tests to detect and measure those experiences, like blood tests or x-rays that reveal physical injuries or illnesses. So when employees say they've suffered a psychiatric injury, it's hard for doctors to verify their claims. Second, psychological conditions can have many causes, including a variety of personal reasons that have nothing to do with work, like marital or financial troubles. Many employers and insurance companies argued for years that it was too easy to fake a psychiatric injury or blame an emotional condition on work when it really resulted from the employee's general life condition.

As a result, you must meet all of the following requirements in order to receive benefits for a psychiatric injury:

You must have a "mental disorder" that's been diagnosed under accepted procedures.

As a result of your mental disorder, you must have required medical treatment or experienced disability (meaning that you had to miss work or couldn't do some of your work tasks).

You must have worked for your employer for at least six months (not necessarily continuous), unless your psychiatric injury resulted from a sudden, extraordinary condition at work.

You must prove that "actual events of employment" were the "predominant" cause of your psychiatric injury—meaning that when all the causes are taken into account, working conditions were at least 51% responsible. (The standard is lower—35% to 40%—if you were a victim of violence at work or you were directly exposed to a significant violent act.)

Medical professionals say that chronic stress, anxiety and depression can significantly impact your quality of life and ability to perform your job. Work-related stress can take many forms, according to the Mayo Clinic. Some examples may include the following:

• Emotional trauma and anxiety from being yelled at and intimidated by a supervisor or co-workers

• Post-traumatic stress disorder after witnessing a fatal workplace accident or sustaining a serious injury on the job

• Having a job that is dangerous, noisy, fast-paced or stressful

• Experiencing sexual harassment, racial discrimination or other forms of unlawful workplace behavior

Chronic stress often does more than upset you emotionally and psychologically. Over time, stress can impact you physically, resulting in such symptoms as chest pain, increased heart rate, fatigue, high blood pressure, headaches and joint pain. These physical manifestations of chronic stress can wreak havoc on your personal and professional life. Additionally, they often do not resolve on their own. It usually requires professional help to deal with stress, depression and anxiety.

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Cole, Fisher, Cole, O’Keefe + Mahoney is Central California’s leading workers’ compensation and social security disability law firm. With over 30 years of successful experience, we are committed to securing maximum benefits for our clients in the Fresno, California area. Schedule a free consultation today.