Can Workplace Anxiety Disorders Qualify for Compensation?

Your mental health is just as important as your physical health, and workers’ compensation in Minnesota acknowledges that mental health issues are real, and sometimes they can be caused by work. However, it is usually much more difficult to prove a mental health issue than a physical one for compensation through workers’ compensation. Having a workers’ compensation lawyer in Minneapolis will usually get you the best results.

Can Workplace Anxiety Disorders Qualify for Compensation?

Anxiety disorders, severe stress, PTSD: these may all be covered if you can show that they are a direct result of your work. You’ll have to be able to meet some pretty specific criteria to do this. You should also know that Minnesota distinguishes three types of mental health injuries. The first is a mental health injury that is related to a physical injury. For example, if you were to fall and break your leg badly and be laid up for six weeks, unable to work or engage in your regular life, and you develop depression, this would be a mental injury related to a physical one.

The second type of mental health injury occurs when the mental health injury causes a physical one. For example, if you work a job with unrelenting stress and eventually develop an ulcer, this may be considered a mental health issue that led to a physical one. Finally, there are the mental health issues that have no relationship to physical issues, and these are the most difficult to prove. Workplace anxiety is usually classified here, and what you have to prove is that the reason you are suffering from a psychological condition is solely due to work-related stress.

What Types of Work-Related Stress Qualify?

The most important thing to know here is that you cannot claim any compensation for stress that is considered part of the everyday pressure of working a job. Working is difficult, and everyone experiences stress, frustration, and strain on the job. Everybody has to deal with bosses that aren’t the best, and everybody has to deal with customers or clients who are demanding and even insulting. None of these things are considered unusual stress, and therefore no compensation is available if you suffer anxiety because of them. The work-related stress that you suffer from must be unusual.

One of the most common workers’ compensation claims for workplace anxiety is for first responders, like firefighters and paramedics. It’s quite common for first responders to develop PTSD, and it’s pretty easy to see that link between the traumatic job they work and the development of PTSD. Even so, a first responder must still show that it is work stress that has caused their condition and not stress at home or in some other area of life. Minnesota law is quick to provide mental health compensation for first responders, but for all other employees, you must be able to show that the stress you have suffered goes well beyond ordinary day-to-day working pressure.

For example, if someone were to enter into your workplace with a weapon and harm several people, even if you were not physically injured yourself, this would be considered unusual stress that is not part of day-to-day work. If you were to develop an anxiety disorder in this situation, you would likely be able to make a claim.

Proving Your Mental Health Claim

The hardest thing is proving these claims. Because you don’t have a physical injury that can be shown on an x-ray or other diagnostic test, it’s common for insurance companies to challenge claims for mental health injuries. You can expect the insurance company to look a lot harder at your claim than they would if you had a physical injury.

You’ll want to be prepared for the possibility that they will try to deny your claim, minimize your suffering, or even become insulting by claiming that you are suffering ordinary stress and strain and are simply unable to deal with it like a “normal” person.

Talk to a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer in Minneapolis

The most important thing you can do to prove your claim is to get the help of an experienced lawyer. You can expect a lot of pushback on a claim like this, but your lawyer will know how to help you show the link between your work and your mental health. You’ll have to be able to show how your duties or an incident at work has directly caused your stress, so not only will you need medical records and the diagnosis from a mental healthcare professional, but you may also need the help of expert witnesses.

Your lawyer will also help you understand what other types of evidence could be used. In some cases, keeping a journal can be very helpful, as this can show the progression of your stress over time. The testimony of family and friends can also be very helpful. If they can explain how they have seen you deteriorate mentally since a particular incident or since a certain type of stress became a big issue at work, that can go a long way to proving the connection. Your lawyer will use the evidence that you gather to tell a cohesive story that shows what’s really happened to you and how you’ve suffered.

Demonstrate That Other Factors Aren’t the Issue

Part of proving your case will likely be proving that other factors in your life did not contribute or cause the problem. If you’ve been having regular arguments with a spouse, for example, the insurance company may try to argue that your stress is actually family-related. But if you can show that your relationship strain only started after a particular incident at work, for example, you may be able to show that the relationship issues were caused by work stress.

Get Ready for an IME

As mentioned, it’s quite common for insurers to deny these claims initially. Unless there is a single, very obvious precursor to your condition (such as if a gunman entered your place of work), they will typically deny these claims out of hand, saying that stress is a normal part of work.

Your lawyer will help you at this point to push back, and as you push back, you may have to submit to an Independent Medical Examination, or IME. An IME is an evaluation by a doctor that the insurer chooses. It’s basically getting a second opinion, and the insurer will always choose a doctor who is incentivized to work for them. These examinations are standard, and it would be a mistake to assume that the doctor is definitely going to rule on the side of the insurance company; but it is often the case that they do. At that point, your lawyer may suggest bringing in expert witnesses to bolster your side of the case.

Your lawyer will do a lot of other things for you too, such as take care of all of the paperwork, negotiate with the insurance company, and make sure that all benefits you’re entitled to actually come to you. For experienced help with a workers’ compensation claim here in Minnesota, contact the Atkinson Gerber Law Office in Minneapolis or St. Paul now for help.