Psychiatric Stress Injuries

Psychiatric Stress Injuries & Workers' Compensation

Psychiatric/stress injuries caused by work can have a long-lasting impact on workers. These disorders and injuries can significantly impact all aspects of their life, making it difficult for them to perform routine functions.

If you are dealing with mental health issues due to your work duties or environment in California, you can recover benefits by filing a workers' compensation claim. California is among the few states that include psychiatric injuries in the workers' compensation policy. However, these claims are rather hard to prove since they get routinely denied by insurance companies and employers.

Therefore, having a dedicated team of lawyers establishing a case and filing the claim on your behalf is integral. The Law Office of Andrea R. Herman can help prove that your psychiatric injuries were caused by the work environment and pressure at your workplace in Los Angeles, CA.

What Mental Health Injuries are covered in Workers’ Compensation in California?

To recover benefits through workers' compensation for psychiatric/stress injuries, it is essential that the job or environment of the worker is the primary cause. There are several mental health disorders and injuries covered under the workers' compensation policy, including:

• Anxiety disorders
• Depression
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Stress

Psychiatric disorders and injuries can be challenging to prove, unlike physical injuries caused at work. The mental health of the worker has to be so severe that it disrupts the ability of the worker to perform their job.

Proving Psychiatric/Stress Injuries

California law allows employees to claim for psychiatric injuries under the workers' compensation, but it is integral to meet the following requirement to recover the benefits:

• Proof of a minimum of three months' work history with the employer
• Having the mental health diagnosis included in the DSM-IV
• Proof that the work environment or duties caused at least 51% of the condition
• Condition resulting from litigation processes are not applicable
• Claim filed before the worker receives the termination notice or is terminated unless their employer was aware of their condition

One major example of psychiatric work-related injury is employees being held hostage at gunpoint at the store in a robbery attempt. This can cause PTSD, which can affect the performance of the employees. Stress caused by receiving negative feedback from an employer due to low performance is not a base for the workers' compensation claim.

Since these cases can be complex, consulting a workers’ compensation lawyer is necessary to ensure you have a strong case before filing a claim.

Consult a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer in Los Angeles, CA

Psychiatric or stress injuries can be extremely complicated to prove in workers' compensation claims. Therefore, it is integral to consult an experienced workers' compensation lawyer to help you with the case. The Law Office of Andrea R. Herman understands how challenging it can be for workers to manage psychiatric injuries, and battling the claim against insurance companies can further add to the stress. Our team takes this added stress away from you by handling your claim right from the start. We gather the evidence, prove the psychiatric injuries are work-related and negotiate a good compensation for you. Properly filing the case ensures you get sufficient compensation to manage your mental health treatments and get the necessary assistance throughout your recovery process.