If you find yourself suffering from a severe stress-related workplace injury, you may be wondering, โcan I even sue my employer for stress and anxietyโ?
The short answer to that question is yes, but itโs complicated.
Stress in the workplace is as common, if not more common, than physical workplace injuries. Similar to the wide range of potential physical workplace injuries employees may sustain, severe stress-related injuries are likely to necessitate time away from work or limit the ability of employees to perform their regular job duties.
However, unlike physical injuries, stress-related injuries are often extremely challenging to diagnose and attribute to a single event, have a range of symptoms, severity, and disability unique to each patient, and are afforded considerably less attention and benefits from government programs like workersโ compensation.
For typical physicalย workplace injuries, state workersโ compensation laws provide injured employees financial benefits in the form of full medical treatment coverage, replacement of lost wages, and specific loss benefits.
After a workplace accident or injury, employees seeking workersโ compensation benefits should inform their employer of the injury they suffered, report to a physician for diagnosis and treatment, and file a claim with their stateโs department of labor (or other state agency which handles workersโ comp claims).
Unfortunately, for employees seeking workersโ compensation for stress and anxiety, this process is not nearly as straightforward.
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Mental Stress Categorizations
Workersโ compensation laws (regardless of state) generally classify workplace mental distress claims (stemming from stress-related injuries) under one of three categorizations.
Physical-Mental Injuries
Physical-mental injuries are those which occur as the direct result of or in the immediate aftermath of a physical workplace injury.
For example, an employee who suffers a debilitating injury while operating heavy machinery may also develop serious anxiety from the incident which, in the most extreme circumstances, can prevent them from being able to regularly operate that machinery in the future (once theyโre healed from the physical injury).
These injuries, in comparison to the other two categories of stress-related workplace injuries, are the easiest workers comp stress claims to win, as they are directly attributable to a physical workplace injury and are recognized by most stateโs workersโ compensation laws.
Mental-Physical Injuries
Mental-physical injuries are physical injuries which occur as the result of extreme mental distress in the workplace.
One of the more common examples of a mental-physical workplace injury is the development of stomach ulcers in employees who work long hours under extreme pressure and stress.
Because these injuries are not typically linked to a specific injury or accident, they are more challenging to diagnose and attribute to workplace activity.
This explains why successful workersโ comp claims for stress-induced ulcers and other mental-physical injuries are much less frequent than that of other mental injury claims.
Mental-Mental Injuries
Mental-mental injuries are those which occur as the result of psychological trauma in the workplace.
Extreme examples of mental-mental injuries includeย post-traumatic stress disorderย developed following a violent workplace incident, such as a robbery or hostage situation. They can also be the result of workplace verbal abuse and harassment.
Common symptoms of mental-mental injuries include anxiety, chronic depression, panic attacks, insomnia and suicidal thoughts.
Because mental-mental injuries are often linked to abnormal work conditions and events, they are generally covered by workersโ compensation laws, yet claims require a considerable amount of proof to be successful.
Individuals seeking workers comp benefits for stress-related injuries will need to review their stateโs specific laws to determine which injuries qualify for benefits and the best way to file a workmanโs comp claim for stress in their state.
Can I File A Workersโ Compensation Claim for Stress in Pennsylvania?
For those wondering whether or not you can get workersโ comp benefits for stress in Pennsylvania, the answer is yes.
The Pennsylvania Workersโ Compensation Actย extends benefits to all three categorizations of mental distress (stress-related injury) claims, with varying burdens of proof depending upon the nature of the injury.
Physical-mental injuries and mental-physical injuries share a burden of proof known as a โpreponderance of the evidenceโ burden. Essentially, this burden requires claimants (injured employees) to demonstrate that there is a greater than 50% probability that the injuries for which they are seeking benefits occurred as a result of workplace activity.
Mental-mental injury claims have a considerably higher burden of proof, which requires claimants to prove their injury was the result of an โabnormal working condition.โ
Under Pennsylvania law, claimants seeking workersโ compensation benefits for stress induced mental-mental injuries must be independently diagnosed by a physician, and have their injuries conclusively attributed to an extraordinarily traumatic workplace event or prolonged period of abnormal (unlawful) working conditions.
Mental-mental injuries arising from normal stress at work are ineligible for compensation.
How to File a Workersโ Comp Claim for Stress in Pennsylvania
The filing process for stress-related workersโ compensation claims is as follows.
1. Immediately report the injury to your employer.
After suffering (or getting diagnosed with) a stress-related workplace injury, you should report the incident and/or injury to your employer within 21 days, to ensure any benefits you receive are retroactive to your date of injury.
If youโre unable to report your injury within those first 21 days, youโre still eligible for benefits (beginning at the reporting date) so long as you file a report within 120 days of the injuryโs occurrence.
2. Seek immediate medical attention and inform your medical provider that the injury is work-related.
Pennsylvania law requires that medical treatment be sought within the first 90 days of notice of your injury to your employer.
Informing your medical provider that your injury is work-related is an essential component of the workersโ compensation claims process, as it creates the necessary documentation to attribute your injury to workplace activity and can have a determinative effect on your claim outcome.
3. File your workersโ compensation claim with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.
After your employer files their First Report of Injury with the state, you have three years to file your workersโ compensation claim with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.
Once your claim is filed and compensability is determined, the workersโ comp stress claim settlement negotiations can begin.
In the event your claim does not meet the guidelines for compensability under Pennsylvania workersโ compensation law, you may be eligible to pursue damages forย psychological and emotional traumaย via alternative means, such as a personal injury lawsuit.
The experienced attorneys at Krasno Krasno & Onwudinjo are here to assist you in all aspects of your workersโ compensation claim. To schedule a free consultation,ย email us today. You may also call (844) 243-4849 or toll-free at 877-794-2396.
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