California law allows injury victims to receive workers’ compensation for psychiatric injuries if they are hurt at their job. Workers can recover compensation for mental stress causing mental disabilities like mental and physical disorders.
Employers are expected to foster a workplace environment free from harassment, emotional turmoil, and other unnecessary stress. If you believe your psychological disability was caused by your job, contacting an experienced Los Angeles workers’ compensation lawyer can help you take the necessary steps to prove your injuries were caused by your job.
Recently, California passed workers’ compensation legislation raising the standard to prove emotional and psychological disabilities. Mental disability benefit claims are often denied by insurance claims adjuster since psychological disorders can be triggered by the injury victim’s feelings and a variety of factors from outside the workplace.
Requirements to file workers’ compensation claims for psychological injuries
Although obtaining workers’ compensation for legitimate mental stress brought on by the workplace may seem difficult, the law nonetheless allows injury victims to file claims for their injuries. Hiring a workers’ compensation attorney can help you meet the requirements for proving a mental disability in California.
Workers seeking compensation for psychological disabilities must be diagnosed with a disorder causing a disability, employed for six months, and able to prove the proximate cause for the mental injury is due to stressful working conditions. California workers must prove working conditions at their job are at least 51 percent responsible for their mental disability or 35 percent responsible in cases of workplace violence.
What kind of compensation can I get for my workplace psychiatric injury?
Typically, workers’ compensation for psychological injuries provides injury victims payments for some medical treatment and temporary disability. Long term or permanent disability can be very difficult to prove but in certain circumstances, injured workers may be able to claim their psychological injury resulted from a physical injury and be able to receive permanent disability compensation to treat their mental disorders.
Proving emotional injuries as a compensable consequence to a physical injury is much more difficult since California passed reforms on the matter in 2013. However, California workers severely injured due to an instance of workplace violence or a catastrophic injury are eligible to receive permanent disability payments for their mental injuries.
How do I prove my psychological workers’ compensation disability?
You should inform your employer as soon as you realize your emotional or psychological disability may be due to workplace conditions and follow the necessary guidelines California has for workers’ compensation claims. Emotional disabilities are difficult to prove and may be met with skepticism by insurance adjusters, so retaining legal representation to advocate for your legal rights should be a priority.
An LA workers’ compensation lawyer can assist you in every step of the process of filing a workers’ compensation claim with your employer’s insurance provider and represent you before a workers’ compensation claim judge if necessary. Make sure your legal rights are protected and speak to a qualified California workers’ compensation attorney about your claim.