Work injuries can come in many forms, and not all of them are physical. Whether you faced a physical injury that developed psychological side effects or you faced a purely psychological injury at work, you may wonder whether it is covered under Workers’ Comp.
Generally speaking, all effects and care needed to treat a physical injury from work should be covered. This means that the psychological effects of a physical injury should certainly be covered. Similarly, work injuries should be covered even if they result in psychological, mental, or emotional harm without an initial physical injury. Even so, proving your case can be harder without a physical element.
For help with your potential claim, call Cardamone Law’s Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Lawyers for a free case review today at (267) 651-7945.
Physical Effects vs. Purely Psychological Injuries
Workers’ Comp should cover psychological injuries if they meet the same usual requirements for any other injury. However, there are three important classes of psychological or mental/emotional harm to consider, and potentially heightened standards for some categories:
Psychological Effects of Physical Injuries (Physical/Mental)
When you get physically hurt in a work-related accident, then wage-loss benefits and medical care should be covered. This includes lost wages and medical/mental health care to treat the psychological injuries, as well as the physical injuries.
This can help you get things like PTSD from a life-altering accident covered, as well as treatment for depression or anxiety caused by your physical injury. When there is physical harm we can link to the work injury, it is easier to link psychological symptoms back to that physical harm and get them covered.
Purely Psychological Injuries (Mental/Mental)
At the same time, a work-related injury should be covered, whether it is physical or mental. Even if you suffered no physical injuries, then psychological, mental, and emotional injuries should be covered.
If something serious happens at work to result in psychological injury without an initial physical injury, it should still be covered – assuming it meets certain heightened qualifications.
Psychological Injuries Causing Physical Effects (Mental/Physical)
If you start with a mental event, then that causes physical symptoms that disable you, that physical disability is enough for Workers’ Comp coverage. This works as long as the stressor that caused the physical disability was work-related.
Examples of Psychological Injuries from Work
Depending on your field and your specific job, there are many potential accidents or injuries you could experience or witness that could cause psychological effects, PTSD, anxiety, depression, and other disabling mental health conditions.
PTSD, Depression, and Anxiety
Many examples involve PTSD, anxiety, and depression caused by one of these sources:
- The traumatic experience of a physical injury
- Witnessing a traumatic event at work
- Causing a traumatic event at work.
Severe Stress
Some jobs are described as “stressful,” but the general stressors of a tough job are not enough to show injury. Instead, there needs to be something above and beyond that causes you severe psychological symptoms to the point that you can no longer perform your job or perhaps even perform activities of daily living.
Some might describe this as a “mental breakdown” rather than simply being “burned out.” Such injuries typically come with diagnosable conditions like PTSD.
If the stress manifests in physical symptoms that disable you, such as a heart attack, that is also covered.
Elements to Prove for Workers’ Comp for Mental/Psych Injuries
There are basic criteria our Bucks County Workers’ Comp lawyers need to prove as part of any Workers’ Comp claim, plus specific requirements for mental health conditions:
Work-Relatedness
You can only claim Workers’ Comp for an injury that happened in the course of your work or because of work conditions. This means pointing to an accident that occurred while you were carrying out work tasks, such as losing an arm to dangerous machinery or being involved in a car accident while driving a truck.
Disabling Injury
If the injury keeps you from returning to work at full capacity, resulting in lost earning power, then your injury is disabling. Whether the injury is physical, mental, or both, your condition has to make you unable to work to qualify for benefits.
Proof of Condition/Diagnosis
Physical and mental health conditions alike need medical evidence to prove that you truly have a condition. It’s one thing to be depressed after being involved in a work accident, and it is another to be diagnosed with depression after the work accident. It is another thing still to acquire depression so severe that you cannot work.
Abnormal Conditions (For Mental/Mental Injuries Only)
For a purely psychological injury with no physical element, you also need to show that the conditions that caused your injury were beyond the normal stress of your job. For example, doctors, undertakers, and coroners see dead bodies as part of their job, but school teachers and factory workers do not.
This is unnecessary when a physical injury is involved because that physical injury is the thing that disables you. This is true whether the physical injuries came directly from the accident or as a manifestation of the psychological issue.
FAQs for Psychological Injuries at Work in Pennsylvania
Can You Get Workers’ Comp for Physical Injuries that Cause Mental Effects?
Yes, any effects of a physical injury are covered, including mental health issues. You merely need to prove the original injury was work-related.
Can You Get Workers’ Comp for Purely Psychological Injuries?
If you faced no physical injuries but acquired mental health conditions from your work, you can get Workers’ Comp. However, you need to prove the condition disables you and came from factors beyond the normal stress of your job to show injury.
Can You Get Workers’ Comp for Physical Effects of Psychological Stress?
Sometimes psychological stress causes physical symptoms. If those physical symptoms disable you, you can get Workers’ Comp.
Can You Get Workers’ Comp for a Stress-Related Heart Attack?
If the physical exertion of your job causes a heart attack, that is a physical injury you can be compensated for normally. If your heart attack is instead caused by mental effects of job stress, you can also get Workers’ Comp.
Because it is a physical symptom that causes your disability, it is still covered without needing to prove an abnormal job stressor.
Is Mental Health Care Covered Under Workers’ Comp?
Yes, Workers’ Comp should cover physical health care and mental health care alike. As long as the care is necessary to treat your condition and carried out by properly licensed providers, it should be covered without prior authorization.
Call Our Workers’ Comp Attorneys in Pennsylvania
Call (267) 651-7945 for a free case evaluation with Cardamone Law’s Philadelphia Workers’ Comp attorneys.
