Rice Law Office Blog

COVID-19 Related PTSD May be Covered Under Workers’ Compensation

The toll of COVID-19 on workers is not just physical or economic. For many, there is an emotional impact that for some, rises to such a level that it requires treatment or time away from work. This is especially true for frontline workers who face increased risk of illness for themselves and their families by virtue of their work keeping others fed, safe and healthy.

In the last few months, and perhaps in those to come, some in our community have experienced long periods of isolation away from family and friends, interrupted only by arduous shifts at work, where the weight of responsibility and the despair at the numbers and size of the problem take a tremendous toll. Fortunately, workers’ compensation coverage is available for those who have taken on this burden and who have suffered with not just physical symptoms of COVID-19, but with the mental manifestations of emotional distress as a result of this work.

In the case of emergency responders, New Hampshire workers’ compensation laws allow employees to recover benefits for disabling mental injury suffered as a result of workplace events. However, there are numerous obstacles and challenges in making these claims. Many employees are not aware of their right to bring these claims, and for those that are, the concern of stigma or impact to an employee’s career can be a daunting obstacle to making a claim. Furthermore, when a claim is made, the chance of denial is high, and the process of appeal is in itself stressful and frequently invasive.

Too often the requirement of proof becomes a point of contention that requires the worker to open up their life and health records to inspection in order to meet the burden of proof required. Employees seeking coverage for PTSD, ASD, and other stress or mental health symptoms caused by work often face layers of opposition to their claim. In some instances, they must not only prove that the symptoms they are experiencing are work related, but to do so, they are often compelled to show that their stress is not caused by other life stressors.  This process of meeting the burden of proof in a stress injury claim can serve to make the symptoms of stress worse and discourage claims altogether. 

New legislation passed in July of 2019 seeks to address these obstacles for some of New Hampshire’s workers with the implementation of a series of amendments aimed at easing the burden of proving a mental injury claim for emergency responders/public safety workers.

RSA 281-A:2 XI, which is now in effect, amends the definition of “injury” or “personal injury” under the workers’ compensation statute, to include acute “stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder” if an employee meets the definition of an “emergency response/public safety worker.” This legislation also expands the definition of emergency response/public safety worker found at RSA 281-A:2 V-c, to now include “emergency communication’s dispatcher” a group of employees often overlooked but who are also deeply connected to this work. With this legislation comes the acknowledgment that the risk of mental stress injuries to these workers is real and must be met with proper opportunity for treatment and time to heal without stigmas or undue added stress associated with making these claims.

Is the U.S. military in the dark ages when it comes to the treatment of mental health illnesses among its veterans? Some critics would say yes based on its recent discharge rates of veterans suffering from mental health disorders for alleged “misconduct”.

Since 2009 the U.S. military has discharged over 22,000 soldiers for misconduct when in fact, they may have only been displaying expected symptoms caused by their military service and injury.

These dismissals come despite a law passed in 2009 requiring that the military consider carefully whether the misconduct leading to discipline was a manifestation of a service related injury such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Further, this is happening despite the devastating impact which this kind of dismissal has on veterans. Dismissal for misconduct results in the loss of health and retirement benefits and can make it very difficult for these veterans to find future employment.

The irony is that these are the very soldiers who are most in need of these benefits. Instead of giving them the care and support they need in the wake of their service and injury, the military is abandoning them according to an NPR story titled Missed Treatment and released in October of 2015. The NPR piece examined the military’s treatment of veterans suffering from mental health conditions and found that despite the 2009 law, dismissals of these veterans for “misconduct” are still widespread. 

A recent ruling from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has expanded protections to allow for extended recovery for veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

The decision from the Eleventh Circuit Court means that protections for injury or illness must now include PTSD. Employers are required to accommodate veterans who need extended recovery time for PTSD, reflecting the growing appreciation and recognition for this serious challenge.

The U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs estimates that between 11% and 20% of all U.S. veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from PTSD. Department of Defense data indicates that 2.5 million men and women were deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan between 2001 and 2013, meaning there are 275,000-500,000 veterans who have struggled with PTSD as a result of the two conflicts. 

Military veterans enjoy certain protections and privileges when it comes to reemployment following a period of military service. The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) all enshrine this status in statutory law. 

Under USERRA, an employee returning from a period of uniformed service lasting longer than 180 days has 90 days to apply for reemployment following the completion of their service, at which point the employer must allow the returning employee to resume work.