Can You File a Workers Compensation Claim for Stress?

Stress is a common problem. The workplace is especially stressful for many people. In many cases, stress is fleeting and once a project is completed or a phase passes, the stress dissipates.

But for many, workplace stress is an ongoing issue. Sometimes it’s barely tolerable and it affects a person’s physical health.

What tools do employees have to deal with workplace stress? Can a workers’ comp attorney in Maryland help you deal with chronic workplace stress?

What Do You Need to Know about Stress and Workers Compensation Claims?

In general, workers’ compensation claims related to mental health issues are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Many states have begun offering compensation for stress-related claims, but it’s not as common as physical injuries.

To receive compensation, employees must show their job caused their anxiety and/or stress.

Additionally, they’ll need to show that their outside-of-work life had little to nothing to do with their condition.

The most common mental health conditions covered by workers’ compensation include:

Anxiety and anxiety disorders
Depression
Stress
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Keep in mind, it’s more challenging to prove a mental health claim. These injuries must be severe enough that they disrupt your ability to perform your job duties. Simply feeling “stressed out” or sad about having to work won’t be enough for a successful claim.

Additionally, in many cases, mental health disorders are secondary issues. Anxiety or PTSD might develop after the primary incident, such as harassment or workplace violence.

This doesn’t mean there must have been an event or incident that caused your condition, but this scenario is more likely to lead to a successful claim. However, the main thing you and your workers’ comp attorney in Maryland need to show is that the stress you’re experiencing in the workplace has interfered with your ability to do your job.

Proving Workplace Stress Injuries

Physical injuries are easily provable. Proving the severity of those injuries is challenging sometimes, but the injury itself is easily documented.

This can be less so the case when a mental health injury is in question.

Society is growing increasingly more open to accepting the importance of mental and emotional health, but there’s a long way to go.

To prove workplace injury related to mental health, it helps to keep careful notes about the events that led to placing the claim. Take note of:

Who’s around
What was said
How you handled the incident in question

If you’re able to show that conditions led to stress, anxiety, depression, or other mental health condition that interferes with your job performance, compensation might be available.

Contact a Workers’ Comp Attorney in Maryland to Learn More about Mental Health and the Workplace

To speak to a workers’ comp attorney in Maryland about filing a workers compensation claim, contact Shugarman & Mehring at 410.783.4200 or toll-free at 888.342.7200.