[email protected] | March 19, 2025 | Workers' Compensation
PTSD can result in total disability for some individuals. It could be possible to receive workers’ compensation for PTSD in some situations. A new law that will be going into effect later this year will make it easier for some employees to receive workers’ compensation for PTSD.
What Is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
Millions of Americans are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. It is a serious mental health condition that develops after a person experiences a traumatic event. Traumatic events include car accidents, catastrophic events, serving in a war, and natural disasters.
A traumatic event can result in anxiety, depression, fear, and other severe emotional responses. Many people recover from these symptoms. However, some individuals experience long-term symptoms. If so, they may be diagnosed with PTSD.
Typically, for a diagnosis of PTSD, the person must experience the following symptoms for at least one month:
- One or more re-experiencing symptoms, including frightening thoughts, nightmares, and flashbacks
- One or more avoidance symptoms, including avoiding thoughts/feelings of the event and avoiding places, objects, and events that remind you of the event
- Two or more reactivity and arousal symptoms, including having angry outbursts, difficulty sleeping, feeling tense, and being easily startled
- Two or more mood and cognition symptoms, including trouble concentrating, loss of interest, feeling guilt/blame, having negative thoughts, and trouble remembering things about the event
PTSD symptoms usually begin soon after a traumatic event. However, some people may not experience symptoms right away. Treatment for PTSD may include medications, counseling, and therapy.
Filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim for PTSD in Pennsylvania
A worker can receive workers’ compensation benefits for PTSD. However, there are strict standards for proving PTSD prevents you from working. The three standards used to determine if a mental injury prevents an employee from working are:
Mental – Physical Standard
The injured worker must prove that a work-related psychological stimulus caused a physical injury. The physical injury must continue after the worker is removed from the psychological stimulus that caused a mental condition.
Physical – Mental Standard
The injured worker must prove a work-related injury caused their mental condition. The severity of the physical injury is not defined, which means that even minor injuries can qualify but must be linked to the mental condition.
Mental – Mental Standard
An injured worker must prove that their mental condition was caused by a perpetually stressful working condition or traumatic event. It is difficult to prove this standard because the courts have ruled that the trauma had to be caused by abnormal working conditions or an extraordinary event.
What Are Abnormal Working Conditions for a Pennsylvania PTSD Workers’ Compensation Claim?
The term “abnormal working conditions” was defined in Payes v. Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board. For the purposes of a workers’ compensation PTSD claim, the following must be true to meet the criteria for abnormal working conditions:
- The PTSD must be objectively verified with expert testimony;
- The PTSD must be traced to an identifiable event, person, or other source; and,
- The source that caused the PTSD must be abnormal for the job.
Whether an event or work condition is “abnormal” depends on the worker’s job.
For example, law enforcement officers routinely encounter dangerous situations involving criminals. However, a store employee being robbed at gunpoint may be considered “abnormal.”
Additionally, a nurse in a hospital deals with death as part of their job. However, it would be “abnormal” for a secretary in an office to witness someone taking their life in the office.
Abnormal working conditions can be challenging to prove. The event must be outside of the ordinary working conditions for the employee. Many employees work in industries where they encounter traumatic events and dangerous conditions as part of their job. For these people, proving an event is “abnormal” requires help from an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer.
New Law for First Responders Filing Workers’ Compensation Claims for PTSD in Pennsylvania
Unfortunately, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency personnel have a high bar to meet for PTSD in a workers’ compensation claim. Their jobs often involve traumatic events that could result in PTSD. However, those situations are part of their job. Therefore, PTSD workers’ comp claims are often denied for emergency personnel.
However, Pennsylvania passed a new law that will take effect on October 29, 2025. The law makes it easier for first responders to obtain workers’ compensation benefits for PTSI (post-traumatic stress injury – another term for PTSD). First responders will no longer need to prove the PTSD diagnosis was due to abnormal working conditions to receive workers’ compensation benefits.
Even with the new law, first responders need to prove the other elements of a PTSD workers’ compensation claim. Regardless of the type of work you perform, it is in your best interest to contact an attorney if your PTSD diagnosis resulted from work-related conditions or events.
Contact Our Workers’ Compensation Law Firm in Philadelphia Today To Get Help With Your Case
To learn more and get the help you deserve, call Zavodnick & Lasky Personal Injury Lawyers at (215) 875-7030 or contact us online.
You can also visit our law firm at 123 S Broad St #1220, Philadelphia, PA 19109.
