Stressful, frightening, and dangerous situations can happen on the job and the consequences can last for the long-term. PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) is the result of trauma. When that trauma is on the job, it may be possible to secure workers’ compensation benefits to pay for medical care and replace lost wages. While this may seem like a difficult condition to prove when seeking benefits, Minnesota workers’ comp law allows for PTSD claims to be filed. The complexity of such a claim is why you need a Southern Minnesota workers compensation attorney helping you.
Help For Workers’ Suffering From PTSD
When a person is diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, they are declared to have an anxiety disorder that is caused by a traumatic experience. When the traumatic event happened on the job, it is a right to seek workers’ comp benefits.
The symptoms that accompany PTSD include:
- Nightmares
- Flashbacks of the event
- Easily startled
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Reexperiencing the event
- Avoiding certain situations or places
The effects of PTSD can be debilitating and requires extensive therapy to reach a point where life can become somewhat normal. The therapy that is involved can take a while before a person is able to return to work. Workers’ comp provides wage loss benefits, as well as medical benefits to help injured workers during their recovery. If a worker can’t return to the same line of work, there are occupational benefits that can help that person enter into a new field. It’s important to take advantage of as many of the applicable benefits as you need.
Challenging Insurance Companies
Of course, the insurance company may try to deny the claim regardless of how valid it is. Many workers’ comp claims are denied initially. Through the legal process with an experienced lawyer, the benefits needed to make the road to recovery possible can be secured. It takes aggressiveness, knowledge of the system and the law, and the ability to present your case effectively to the insurance companies – and to the court – to get approval of workers’ comp claims for PTSD.
Even if approval for PTSD doesn’t seem likely to you, it costs nothing to find out. There are people throughout Mankato and Southern Minnesota who are receiving benefits right now.
Contact Our Southern Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Attorneys
If you are suffering from work-related PTSD, it’s important to file your workers’ comp claim as soon as possible. If you’ve been denied, the attorneys at Harvey & Carpenter can help you with the legal process. To learn more about your rights and options, call us at (507)-779-7529 to request a free consultation.
