For thousands of Georgia residents, taking good health for granted is no longer an option after a workplace injury or accident. Whether you work in construction and fell from an improperly guarded walkway or work as a home health aide and suffered a violent incident with a client, workplace injuries can wreak havoc on your body.
However, few people realize that physical injuries can also lead to mental and emotional health issues. Depression and anxiety, unfortunately, often follow the long days of recovery. If you love your job, it can be hard to be away from it. More than that, an injury after a worksite accident can cause post-traumatic stress disorder. Many workers report discomfort at the thought of returning to the same duties that caused the injury in the first place. This mental anguish can be strong enough to keep you from returning to work even once you are physically well – and some people end up changing careers completely rather than return to an environment that seems hazardous after an accident.
Mental health injury
In Georgia, a mental health injury alone does not qualify for worker’s compensation benefits. However, a mental health concern that rises from a physical injury can qualify for additional worker’s compensation benefits to help you deal with the trauma.
If you suffer from the following mental health concerns after a worksite injury, you should explore your options for additional worker’s compensation benefits:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Panic attacks
- Insomnia
- Alcohol or medication addiction
These conditions qualify as “superadded” conditions for worker’s compensation benefits if you have proof that the mental health disorder came about as a direct result of the original injury.
Additional benefits
If you are one of the thousands of Americans who already have a mental health condition, you may receive additional worker’s compensation benefits if the injury made your pre-existing mental health concern worse. Consult with an attorney about your specific situation, especially if you feel concerned about workplace retaliation from the unfortunate stigma of mental health concerns.
