More than 1 in 5 Americans, or 50 million people, live with a mental illness and at least 46% of Americans will meet the criteria for a mental health condition at some point in their lives. In New York State, depending on the circumstances, an injured worker’s mental health condition may be compensable as either a direct or consequential result of a workplace accident or injury. Successfully proving this, however, often requires the expertise of a skilled workers’ compensation attorney.
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Psychological Injuries
The New York State Workers’ Compensation Law has not yet adapted to the modern understanding of mental health. In fact, the Legislature specifically excludes claims for work-related stress involving “solely mental” injuries from the definition of "injury” in Workers’ Compensation Law § 2[7] if that injury is “a direct consequence of a lawful personnel decision involving a disciplinary action, work evaluation, job transfer, demotion, or termination taken in good faith by the employer.”
This means that if your employer fires, demotes, transfers, or punishes you, and you suffer a decline in your mental health as a result, that will not be a compensable a workers’ compensation claim. Similarly, if the decline in your mental health is a result of your supervisor, coworkers, or customers doing things that are not otherwise against the law, your workers’ compensation case will be denied, no matter how severe your condition becomes.
However, if an incident at work is considerably more stressful than what is expected in your line of work, a resulting mental health condition such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be compensable. This is defined by your normal work environment. For example, a retail store manager may have a claim for post-traumatic stress disorder or generalized anxiety disorder if someone brandishes a gun at them in the course of committing a robbery, but a police officer who has a gun pointed at them likely would not.
Importantly, this distinction is only relevant where the injured worker suffers no physical injury. These nuances are constantly evolving with each opinion from the Appellate Division that is released. In other words, these claims get complicated fast and it is vital to have an attorney familiar with this area of workers’ compensation law to help you navigate the claims process.
Consequential Psychological Conditions
Many injured workers have a very difficult time coping with the impact of being out of work and the results of their physical injuries. These psychological difficulties sometimes worsen and develop into mental health conditions that require medical treatment. In fact, studies show that injured workers are more likely to experience symptoms of depression and anxiety than the general population. It is also well documented that ongoing, chronic pain can cause significant psychological and behavioral dysfunction.
Mental health conditions like anxiety and/or depression may be compensable as a psychological injury when those symptoms—like loss of self-esteem, loss of pleasure, psycho-social dysfunction, and ultimately, feeling as if their hopes and dreams have been crushed—are a result of the physical injuries sustained in the work accident. If you find yourself feeling like this after getting hurt on the job, you are not alone and help is available for you. You will need experienced workers’ compensation attorneys to help you gather the necessary medical evidence to get the mental health treatment you need covered under your claim.
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