Some jobs really are harder than others. Some are especially hard on one’s mental health.
And that’s the whole problem with mental health injuries and workers’ compensation. The pain is real. It can be PTSD after a workplace robbery, anxiety that won’t quit, or a stress load that finally buckles you. It’s all real, but there’s no photo or MRI scan to show to an insurance adjuster. So, claims for injuries to the mind often go denied.
Here’s the good news: In both New Mexico and Texas, psychological injuries can be covered. The catch is proving it. Here’s when mental health injuries are covered under workers’ compensation, what you have to show, and how to build a claim that succeeds.
If your job broke something nobody else can see, our workers’ compensation attorneys can help.
Understanding Mental Health Coverage in Workers’ Compensation
Are mental health injuries covered under workers’ compensation? The short answer is yes. Sometimes. But not all of them, and not equally.
The system sorts these injuries into three categories.
- A physical-mental claim starts with a bodily injury that leads to psychological harm, for example, depression during a long period of recovery.
- A mental-physical claim runs the other way. Mental stress brings on a physical ailment such as a heart attack or recurring ulcers.
- A mental-mental claim is the toughest to document because it is purely psychological and shows no physical wound. Some systems treat these injuries as an occupational disease.
Your ability to get workers’ comp for PTSD, anxiety, or work-related depression depends a lot on which category you’re coming from. Typically, the more physical evidence there is, the easier the road towards compensation.
The Legal Requirements for Proving Psychiatric Claims
Proving a mental health claim can get expensive, and here’s why: These cases live or die on both a diagnosis and a causal link. Only a mental health professional can back up such claims.
First, you need the diagnosis. That will require a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist to put a name on what you’re experiencing. It could be a recognized condition like PTSD, major depression, or an anxiety disorder. One bad week won’t qualify. For stress claims, most systems require the stress to be extraordinary, or well beyond the everyday pressure of an ordinary job.
Next, a doctor assigns a psychological impairment rating that helps set your benefits. If you don’t bring both a psychological diagnosis and a doctor’s impairment rating to your claim, the insurer will treat it like it never happened.
Differences Between New Mexico and Texas Compensation Laws
The Texas-New Mexico state line matters quite a bit. Once you cross it, the rules change.
New Mexico does recognize purely psychological injuries, but it sets the bar high. For example, workplace anxiety claims generally must meet a tougher standard than a physical injury. The initial stressor has to be more than the everyday grind.
Texas is its own animal. It’s a rare state where employers can opt out of the workers’ comp system entirely. This can scramble your options before you even start with a claim. Texas workers’ comp mental stress claims tend to be limited, except for when they’re tied to a physical injury or a sudden, traumatic event. Broader coverage for such claims is carved out for first responders such as emergency personnel and law enforcement.
The same injury can have a whole different playbook depending on which state you’re in.
How to Document Your Mental Health Injury Claim
Documentation is how you take back some control.
Report on your condition early. Tell your employer about it as soon as you can and in writing. This is the same standard that exists for physical injuries, so follow it. Insurers looking for any excuse to deny your claim will pounce on late reporting.
Next, get a professional diagnosis and stay in treatment. Consistent records documented by a mental health professional support your whole claim.
Also, keep a dated journal of your symptoms and whatever sets them off.
Save everything. This includes appointment notes, prescriptions, and the names of anyone who witnessed the event that triggered a work-related mental breakdown. Build the file before you even need it. That’s where a psychiatric injury lawyer can then come in and do their thing, turning scattered proof into emotional distress benefits.
Your Pain Is Real. Make the Paper Trail Real, Too
An injury nobody can see is still an injury, but a workers’ comp system built around broken bones won’t always act like it. That’s the wall too many workers hit when they try to go it alone.
Barrera Law Group LLC knows that wall and how to get around it. With offices in Albuquerque, Houston, and Odessa, the firm works both the New Mexico and Texas systems.
We understand what each one demands before it will take a psychological injury seriously.
You focus on getting better. Let someone else fight the adjuster. If a job left you with a mental health injury, speak with an attorney to learn what your claim is worth.