With mental health issues, showing a nexus between your condition and your job can be more challenging. In some cases, there is a traumatic event like a shooting that can be readily linked to your mental health condition.
But in other situations, there may not be a direct connection between a single event or a series of events and your stress and anxiety. Many mental health injuries arise over time, due to the nature of your work or difficulties at work. This can make it harder to prove that your injury was caused by work. One way to overcome this challenge is by working with experienced mental health professionals.
They may be able to establish that the cause of your mental health issues is your job — and provide testimony to that effect. Sometimes, if the employer or the insurer has sufficient information, the need for a claim form can be waived. You usually have a time limit of six months from the date of the injury to bring a claim. Once the employer becomes aware of the work-related psychological injury, they must ensure their workers compensation insurer is notified within 48 hours.
It is a good idea to ask your employer for the name of their insurer. The employer must provide this information to you. Once a complete claim has been received, the insurer has 21 days to either accept or deny liability for the psychological injury and any loss sustained as a result. This means you will not need to pay any legal fees in relation to a claim for workers compensation whatsoever. In cases where the conduct that caused the stress is subtle, it can be difficult to establish a claim.
You will not be entitled to compensation if your psychological injury was caused by your employer taking reasonable action, this includes things such as performance appraisal, dismissal, and disciplinary actions. As you can see, each claim really depends on the facts. It is best to get personalised advice to avoid any further emotional distress.
If the stress was the result of the reasonable action of the employer, then compensation is not payable. Many things can trigger stress and other forms of mental illness, but a large portion of these cannot be primarily attributed to the workplace. Family troubles, financial issues, or other health problems can cause mental health issues, but these did not arise as a direct result of the workplace.
An accredited mental health specialist will be tasked to assess the claimant in order to diagnose their symptoms accurately. Be aware though, as mentioned above, that your employer is protected if he or she can prove they took reasonable action to prevent your injury. There must also be a causal link proven between your condition and your job.
Another important factor to be taken into account and followed for eligibility under the WorkCover scheme is that as an employee you must inform your employer within 30 days of your injury or work related condition. A claimant for Workers Compensation has to produce sufficient medical evidence in support of their psychological injury claim. These claims are rigorously scrutinised, therefore an accredited specialist in mental health will normally have to assess claimants to diagnose their injury.
However, there are lump sum payments available for workers who have permanent impairments caused by work-related injuries or illnesses. For example, emergency services responders, police, firefighters, ambulance paramedics exposed to harrowing events often have post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD. The WPI system decides how much a condition negatively affects a person, and asks whether the claimant functions at least 15 per cent poorer than if they had not been injured.
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