I recently responded to a question regarding depression and workers compensation claims on a message board that I follow.  I thought I would share my response to the below question.

Any of the worker’s compensation lawyers have experience with depression as a work-related injury and thus eligible for worker’s comp benefits? I can think of many dysfunctional workplaces that have led to employees being depressed and/or suffering from other mental health conditions, but wonder how receptive the courts and judges are with such claims.

There has to be a physical injury which causes, aggravates or accelerates the psychological condition in order for the psychological condition to be compensable under Minnesota workers compensation law. These are so-called “physical/mental” injuries.

I currently represent injured employees in workers compensation cases; previously I was a workers compensation insurance defense lawyer. In my experience it is common for injured employees to become depressed because of restrictions from their injury and the inability to get back to work. It is also common that a workers compensation insurer will be held responsible for psychiatric treatment in those cases.

But in cases where the employee is off work because of a psychological condition that is arguably the result of stress in the workplace, a so-called “mental/mental ” injury, current case law precludes recovery. See Lockwood v. Independent School District No. 877, 34 W.C.D. 305, 312 N.W.2d 924 (Minn. 1981)

However, with medical and scientific advances which can demonstrate a physical brain injury the mental/mental cases may become compensable. I am thinking about evidence from psychometric testing and PET scans.

There was a recent unreported workers compensation decision which awarded compensation for posttraumatic stress disorder related to the school shootings in Red Lake, Minnesota. The employee was teaching on March 21, 2005 at the Red Lake High School, when a 16-year-old killed five other students. At one point, the shooter pointed the gun at the teacher and pulled the trigger, but the gun was empty.

The compensation judge wrote in his decision that

“the mental stimulus, which was the extreme mental stress that the employee experienced at work on March 21, 2005, produced a physical injury to the employee’s brain that has left her with severe and unrelenting PTSD, depression and anxiety,” The compensation judge went on to state,”the mental stimulus also produced physical injury to the neck and shoulders, which would make the case compensable even if there is no physical injury to the brain.”

It is unknown at this time whether the case will be appealed.