If you are employed in Minnesota you may be aware that you could have access to workers’ compensation benefits if you are injured in a job-related accident that meets the program requirements. However, did you also know that you may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits for injuries associated with mental stress? Not every workplace situation that involves mental stress may qualify for these benefits but understanding the parameters of some that might is important.
According to the Minesota Department of Labor and Industry, one of the types of claims for workers’ compensation allowed related to mental stress involves that stress which ultimately results in an injury of a physical nature. The physical injury must be able to be treated on its own separate from any treatment that may be required to sufficiently address the mental stress. Additionally, there must be a proven connection between the mental stress and the physical injury and the originating mental stress must be deemed excessive or beyond what one might consider normal stress in a workplace environment.
If a physical injury develops and is connected to a root cause of mental stress, there may be other factors that also contributed to the physical injury as the state does not require the mental stress to be the only cause of the ultimate injury.
If you would like to learn more about physical injuries caused by mental stresses on the job, please feel free to visit the mental stress workers’ compensation claim page of our Minnesota employee injury and compensation website.