Can I Receive Workers’ Comp Benefits For Emotional Damage?

Workers’ compensation benefits are intended to cover expenses incurred by an employee while recovering from an on-the-job injury. However, in the overwhelming majority of cases, those injuries must be physical. While it is possible, even likely, for many jobs to cause psychological and emotional damage to employees, Florida’s law has been firm in holding that these types of injuries are not compensable by the workers’ compensation system except in very rare circumstances.

Why Not?

There are two exceptions to the rule that holds that workers’ compensation cannot compensate for emotional injuries. The first is if the damages are sustained along with a physical injury. For example, post-traumatic stress disorder developing after a workplace accident or an episode of violence. The second situation is when a shock extreme enough to shock the well-being of the public occurs.

That said, one might wonder why Florida’s courts have been so firm in refusing benefits for emotional injuries. The answer is that purely psychological or emotional injuries are too hard to quantify. When pain and suffering damages are awarded in most civil law cases, they are assessed relative to any physical injury that might have occurred. Merely assigning a value to the degree of psychological damage suffered, with no concrete evidence, seems inequitable to most.

Exceptions Exist

If you have sustained emotional or psychological injury at work, it is important to understand that such an injury is unfortunately not always compensable. One of the two situations stipulated must be present; for good or ill, the workers’ compensation system is intended to streamline employee claims, rather than to truly protect workers in many situations.

That said, if you do believe that you sustained emotional injury as a result of a particularly severe shock, or along with a physical injury, consulting an attorney while seeking workers’ compensation benefits is a good idea. Since these claims are relatively rare, they can still be difficult to establish without the right legal help on your side.

Contact A Maitland Workers’ Compensation Attorney

If you have been injured at work, and the injury is emotional, it can be difficult, though not impossible, to recover monetarily. A Maitland workers’ compensation attorney from the Hornsby Law Group can answer your questions about the benefits process, and try to ease your concerns. Contact our office today to schedule a consultation.