Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Coverage for Mental Disorders
Under the Tennessee workers’ compensation system, a mental disorder may be covered as an “injury” if it also arises out of the workers’ employment. In the typical case, the injury is a mental disorder caused by a traumatic physical event happening at work.
Mental disorders that have been found compensable include post-traumatic stress syndrome, traumatic neurosis, psychosis, and severe depression.
While other jurisdictions have held otherwise, a worker may also recover for mental disorders that result from emotional stress or strain so long as the worker proves that his or her personal injury in Sevierville was caused by a specific event or series of events of a dramatic or unusual nature.
Events suggested to be of a dramatic and unusual nature by the Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Panel include fright, shock, and excessive and unexpected anxiety. Termination, however, has been held as an insufficient stimulus by the courts.
Moreover, the worker may not claim that a mental disorder resulted from generalized working conditions. In Jose v. Equifax, for instance, the worker’s claim failed because he alleged that his job as a claims representative subjected him to tremendous pressures and tensions resulting in a severe psychiatric illness, which in turn resulted in habitual alcoholism.
If you have sustained a mental disorder causally related to a singular event or series of events that happened at work, you may be entitled to compensation for wages and any related health expenses. To learn more, call 866-853-2888 to speak with an experienced Tennessee workers’ compensation attorney at Baker Associates.
