More often than not, an accepted worker’s comp injury is restricted to the physical injuries that you can sustain at work. Mostly, the description of injuries on the bureau documentation will essentially be a very limited description.
Typically, the documentation will identify the injured body part, such as ankle sprain or strain – but – the one thing that is rarely included in the initial documentation is the mental injury that the affected person might have sustained.
Worker’s Comp and Depressed Employees
When we think about mental illness and the types of trauma that the affected person might experience, PTSD might be the only illness that might come to mind. However, most people who have sustained injury at work and are bed-ridden for some time, they might develop depression and anxiety.
As they are no longer going to work and are instead bound to their bed – they might fall into a loop of depression where they might wonder when the next worker’s comp check will come in so they can pay their medical bills.
Depression is also involved in a lot of worker’s compensation cases and understandably so.
In some cases, additional issues like pregnancy discrimination may also come into play. The signs of pregnancy discrimination can include being denied reasonable accommodations, experiencing unjustified job reassignment, or facing unfair treatment that affects one’s mental well-being. If a worker feels they are being treated unfairly due to pregnancy, this can contribute to additional stress and mental health challenges, further complicating their situation.
The Importance of Getting A Treatment Plan
If you are currently in a worker’s comp case, you should seek the help of a professional – especially – if you are suffering from mental health issues. Your lawyer might be able to pick up on the mental health diagnosis that you might be going through – but – evidence comes first, which is why your lawyer is more or less going to rely on the medical professionals to make the diagnosis and come up with a treatment plan to support the diagnoses in the worker’s comp claim.
The Importance of Talking to Your Attorney
Your lawyer will have your best interest at heart, which is why, from a human standpoint, they will ensure that you are taken care of as a whole person. The mental health aspect of that certainly needs to be paid attention more times than the physical injury in itself.
After you get diagnosed for mental health issues and your doctor advises a treatment plan, your attorney can help get your mental health diagnosis included in your worker’s compensation claim. Many times, the mental health diagnosis becomes the reason why an individual cannot get back in the workforce.
This aspect perfectly explains why in a certain circumstance where the employee and the employer are trying to figure out what kind of job they can return to in the given circumstance – it is incredibly important to have all the potential mental and physical health diagnosis included.
Work-Related Stress Can Turn Into Personal Injury
Speaking of personal injury, you should know when work-related stress can fall into the category of personal injury. In terms of working, if you have worked too many hours to the point of exceeding the hours that are permitted by the state law or contract – it can result in psychiatric injury at the workplace.
This aspect is especially highlighted if your employer fails to step in to mitigate the potential risk of injury, as most people become ill due to overwork. Another type of work-related stress that can turn into a personal injury claim is when you experience workplace bullying and harassment at the workplace.
Typically, bullying and harassment can take two forms where someone has been harassed. As per the definition of harassment – the conduct has to border on criminal activity to the point where the affected person has been threatened with violence or abuse at the workplace, which has subsequently given rise to an injury.
The best way to determine whether or not stress-related workplace injury is a personal injury you contact a lawyer, such as the Law Office of Matthew L. Sharp, as the attorney is in the best position to assess the situation, establish the claim, and ensure that your rights are protected while you get compensated for the injury.
Office Disputes and Psychological Injury
Work-related stress could also be the result of the more traditional dispute that happens between managers and employees. In such an incident, it can be a tension between the staff where one might have given notice that the behavior that they are complaining of is harming their health.
It becomes the duty of the employer to ensure that a risk assessment is undertaken and measures are put in place to ensure that the affected person doesn’t face fresh injury or that the matter isn’t made worse.
Suppose the employer neglects the matter and fails to assess the potential risks of the ongoing office disputes. In that case, it might cause mental health injury, which can allow the affected person to sue the employer with the help of a personal injury lawyer.
The Responsibility of Employers
Employers should beware their responsibilities and employees should know their rights regarding mental health. Firstly, you should know that employers have a duty of care towards employees, which covers everything from physical to mental health.
One of the things that employers should think about is the impact of stress at the workplace. So, the key is to conduct regular risk assessment around the wellbeing of employees. Now, mental illness is a disability under the equality act in most circumstances.
Understanding the Act of Disability
The equality act of disability is basically a protected characteristic which means that employees can have the right of protection from discrimination and this act also places an obligation on employees to make reasonable adjustments where they are disabled.
It is incredibly important for employers to understand the mental health of their team. Employers should be aware of and reasonably know about the potential mental health of their employees. For instance, if employees have been calling sick for several days in a row – instead of termination, employers should try to get to know the root cause.
Employers should try to assess whether or not they can introduce reasonable adjustments to alleviate any potential issues that might have been reported to them. It is the employer’s duty to approach the situation carefully and sensitively in a way that is supportive to the affected employee who is suffering from a mental health issue.
