Unfortunately, many physically injured workers are diagnosed with secondary/ consequential psychological injuries such as anxiety and depression. This is as a result of the significant impact that their injury has on all aspect of their life, not just their employment.
Injured workers are not only suffering from decreased income but also chronic pain, limitations in what they can do around the house and yard, loss of hobbies, unable to look after children or grandchildren as they could before the injury, difficulty sleeping because of chronic pain and uncertainty about the future.
If an injured worker does experience psychological symptoms, they should speak to their general practitioner to include these on their Certificates of Capacity. The workers compensation insurer will pay for the required related treatment to manage the psychological condition. Also, if the injured worker experiences incapacity or partial incapacity as a result of their secondary psychological injury, the insurer is liable to pay the required weekly payments.
A secondary/ consequential injury is not assessed by the workers compensation insurer in the same way that the initial/primary injury is. The workers compensation insurer only needs to assess that the psychological injury “results from” the workplace injury.
At times, the workers compensation insurer and claims manager can be difficult about accepting liability for secondary psychological injury or the recommended treatment. The lawyers at Turner Freeman are able to assist in responding to these difficulties to ensure that you get the help you need as soon as possible.