Can Mental Health Issues Qualify You for Workers’ Comp in Minnesota?

Mental health issues can be a result of work injuries just as much as physical injuries can, but, unfortunately, the law has sometimes been slow to acknowledge this. If you’re suffering from mental health issues you believe were caused by work or conditions at your workplace, a St. Paul worker’s comp lawyer can help you understand your options.

From a St. Paul Worker’s Comp Lawyer: Can Mental Health Issues Qualify You for Workers’ Comp in Minnesota?

The short answer is a very qualified yes. Workers’ compensation claims for mental health issues in Minnesota are generally categorized into three types per the Minnesota Workers Compensation Act: mental stress leading to physical injury; physical trauma leading to mental injury; mental stress leading to mental injury.

Minnesota recognizes claims based only on the first two categories, with some exceptions for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) claims made after October 1, 2013. Let’s break down what these categories mean and give some examples.

Category 1: Mental Stress Leading to Physical Injury

You can be eligible for worker’s comp if you’ve suffered work-related mental stress or stimuli that produced an identifiable physical ailment. The stress doesn’t have to be the sole cause, but it must be a substantial contributing factor to the physical problem. An example would include an employee suffering from severe work-related stress who develops ulcers. If the ulcers can be independently treated from any underlying anxiety or personality disorders, the claim may be compensable.

To prove a claim for stress-induced injury, you have to prove both legal and medical causation. Legal causation means showing that the mental stress you experienced was beyond the ordinary day-to-day stress that is typical in most jobs and endured by the average person every day, no matter what work they do. Work is inherently stressful, and that this is part of the human condition. Your experience must go beyond the ordinary, but it can be both sudden and also accumulated over time. Medical causation means you’ll need to prove that the mental stress directly caused your physical condition.

Category 2: Physical Trauma Leading to Mental Injury

Think of this as the opposite of category 1. In this case, you’ve suffered a physical injury or trauma at work and that has led to a mental condition and is compensable under Minnesota law if it can be proved. The physical injury must have been a substantial contributing factor to the mental injury, but it does not need to be the only cause of your mental injury.

Importantly, the degree of the physical injury is not the determining factor in whether you are claim worker’s comp. What matters is having a clear, medical link between the physical and mental conditions. For instance, if an employee has an accident that injures their back and results in chronic pain, this pain might lead to depression or anxiety. If a medical professional can clearly connect the physical injury to the mental condition, the employee may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits for both the physical and mental injuries.

Category 3: Mental Stress Leading to Mental Injury

Generally, Minnesota does not allow workers’ compensation for cases where mental stress alone results in a mental injury, except for PTSD claims after October 1, 2013. This exclusion is based on historical interpretations of the law as well as on some court rulings that have shaped current legislation and how it’s interpreted.

PTSD claims are an exception, but only under certain circumstances. For PTSD that manifested on or after October 1, 2013, you can make a claim against worker’s comp so long as the condition fulfills the following conditions:

1. The PTSD must be diagnosed by a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist
2. The PTSD must meet the criteria outlined in the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
3. The PTSD cannot be the result of disciplinary measures, job evaluations, transfers, layoffs, or similar actions, if they were taken in good faith by the employer.

Recent Amendments

There have recently been some important changes to Minnesota’s workers’ compensation laws for injuries occurring on or after January 1, 2019 that apply to certain types of employees. Particularly for first responders, there is now a presumption that if such an employee is diagnosed with PTSD, it is work-related. People in other professions will need to prove that their PTSD is work-related, but because of the nature of first responder work, it can normally be presumed that their source of trauma is what they experience in the course of their work.

Thus, if a police officer, firefighter, paramedic, emergency medical technician, or corrections officer is diagnosed with PTSD and has no prior PTSD diagnosis, it is presumed to be work-related and the process of getting worker’s comp is simplified.

However, even with this presumption, the diagnosis must still be made by a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist and must still meet the DSM criteria. Also, employers and insurers can rebut the presumption if they can present substantial evidence to the contrary, and this must be communicated to the employee at the time of denial. In other words, if an employer is going to deny the claim, they will have to be able to show proof that the precipitating event or events for the PTSD likely occurred outside of work.

What to Do If You Have a Work-Related Mental Health Issue

If you believe your mental health condition is related to your employment, your first step should be to report the injury to your employer as soon as possible and seek a qualified medical evaluation from a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist so you get both a proper diagnosis and a treatment plan. With that done, be sure to follow these steps:

Document Everything

Document all incidents that are contributing to the issues and all the symptoms related to your condition. Make sure to include dates, times, and specifics of the stressful or traumatic events at work that you’ve experienced. Clear, thorough documentation will go a long way to strengthening your case for compensation.

Talk to a St. Paul Worker’s Comp Lawyer

Because it can be especially difficult to prove mental health claims for workers’ compensation, it’s very important to have legal counsel on your side. An attorney with experience in workers’ comp claims will help you understand what you can claim and what you need to bring that claim, get all the paperwork done and properly filed, and represent you from start to finish. This not only means you’re more likely to get the claim approved but also relieves a lot of stress, which is especially helpful if you’re suffering from mental health injuries.

Ask Your Lawyer About Medical Help

A diagnosis from a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist is required to establish a condition for these claims, so be sure to talk to your lawyer about recommendations for qualified medical professionals with experience in this area. The medical professional must clearly connect the mental health condition to your work-related incident or environment, and their testimony and medical reports will be foundational to proving the existence of the condition and its work-related origin.

If you’re suffering mentally ​because of your work or the ​conditions of your work, there may be recourse for you in worker’s comp. The best way to find out is to ​call us at the Atkinson Gerber Law Office in St. Paul and Minneapolis, MN right away.