Riverside Work Stress & Mental Health Attorneys

Are Mental Health Claims Covered by Workers’ Compensation?

California law guarantees all employees workers’ compensation coverage for job-related injuries. Workers’ compensation covers more than just physical accidents; it includes any work-related illness or injury. Injuries or illnesses that develop over time, for example, are covered, so long as they are connected to work (repetitive stress injuries, exposure to chemicals in the workplace, etc.) Workers’ comp covers illnesses and conditions relating to mental health, not just physical health.

In California, mental health conditions caused by work are covered by workers’ compensation. Like any other workers’ comp claims, the key is to connect the condition to the workplace and/or work-related tasks. Conditions such as anxiety, panic attacks, post-traumatic stress disorder, sleep disorders, clinical depression, and physical conditions caused by workplace stress (hypertension, heart attack, etc.) are all compensable.

When Are Anxiety or Stress-Related Claims Compensable in California?

Workers’ compensation covers conditions caused by work-related stress. Proving that a mental health condition is compensable, however, can be a tricky process. Lawmakers added special rules concerning psychiatric injuries and illnesses under the workers’ comp system because they are different in kind from physical injuries. Because psychiatric injuries are more internal and harder to objectively view, employers and lawmakers wanted additional standards to ensure psychiatric injuries were legitimate.

In California, an employee can recover for mental health conditions caused by workplace stress so long as the following are true:

• The worker has a “mental disorder” identified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) that has been medically diagnosed using appropriate procedures.
• Due to the mental injury, the worker required medical treatment or has experienced disability (e., has missed work or has been unable to perform some work tasks).
• The condition was predominantly (at least 51%) caused by the actual circumstances of employment.
• The worker has been employed with the employer for at least six months, unless the condition arose from a sudden, extraordinary condition at work.
• The condition was not caused by a good faith personnel action (such as criticism of a worker’s conduct or decisions about a raise or promotion).

Additional requirements apply if a worker files for workers’ comp after termination of employment based on psychiatric injury. Given the complex nature of filing for psychiatric injury, it is important to have a seasoned workers’ comp attorney on your side if you are seeking workers’ compensation.