New York Workers' Compensation: Claims for Depression, Anxiety, and Other Mental Health Issues

Most jobs include a certain amount of stress. But if your job has caused or contributed to a mental health problem like depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), you might wonder whether your condition will be covered by workers' compensation laws.

Workers' comp provides benefits to people who suffer a a work-related injury or illness, regardless of who was at fault. When the injury or illness is emotional or psychological, rather than physical, most states—including New York—have rules that make it hard to qualify for benefits.

Read on to learn more about claiming workers' comp benefits for mental health conditions in New York.

What Are the Eligibility Requirements for Workers' Comp in New York?

The basic requirements for workers' comp benefits in New York are as follows:

• You must be an employee. Independent contractors, volunteers, and others are usually not eligible for benefits.
• You suffer a work-related injury or illness.
• You cannot work because of this injury or illness. Your inability to work could be temporary or permanent.
• You follow all necessary claim procedures. Among other requirements, you must file a timely claim for benefits, seek medical attention from a doctor, and cooperate with the New York State Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) while it is processing your claim.

Since workers' comp in New York is a no-fault system, you do not have to prove that anyone caused your injury or illness. You only have to show that it resulted from your job and that it is keeping you from working.

Workers' comp is a type of insurance. Your employer pays into a fund managed by the WCB. If an employee receives benefits, the employer's contribution to the workers' comp fund could go up. This gives employers a reason to dispute claims that aren't clear-cut, particularly mental health-related claims

What Mental Health Conditions Does New York Workers' Compensation Law Cover?

In New York, virtually any mental health condition—including depression, anxiety, and PTSD—can lead to a successful workers' comp claim if you can demonstrate that the condition was directly related to your job.

However, the law makes a specific exception regarding mental health conditions that are caused by "lawful personnel decision[s]" that an employer makes "in good faith," including "disciplinary action, work evaluation, job transfer, demotion, or termination." N.Y. Workers' Comp. L. § 2(7) (2024).

In other words, you cannot get workers' comp benefits for stress or other conditions that result from employment decisions that do not go your way. Getting transferred to a new job, demoted, or fired is stressful. As long as your employer was following the law, though, a workers' comp claim will have no chance of success in New York.

How Can You Demonstrate That Your Mental Health Condition is Related to Your Job?

A mental health condition can develop as a result of an injury, accident, or other traumatic event in the workplace. It can also build over time because of a person's job duties or their working conditions. A person could manifest a mental health condition for the first time in connection with their job, or something could happen that makes an existing condition much worse.

The following scenarios could result in a viable workers' comp claim involving a mental health condition:

Workplace Injuries

Workplace accidents can cause harm far beyond physical injuries. The pain of an injury and the difficulty of recovery can lead to mental health problems.

A person who suffers injuries on the job can develop PTSD, depression, or other conditions that affect their mental well-being. They might make a full physical recovery but still be unable to return to work because of anxiety, panic attacks, or phobias.

Witnessing Traumatic Events in the Workplace

A person can develop mental health concerns because of something that happened to someone else in the workplace. A serious incident, such as an industrial accident that causes dismemberment, can traumatize other people who witness it. A first responder who discovers a particularly grisly accident or crime scene could develop significant PTSD symptoms.

Assault or Other Acts of Violence

A person who is the victim of workplace violence could suffer both physical and psychological injuries that prevent them from returning to work. PTSD, anxiety, or depression could result from an assault or other violent acts.

Stressful or Difficult Working Conditions

Ordinary job stress generally does not entitle you to workers' comp benefits. But some jobs or workplaces might be so stressful that significant mental health problems could develop over time. This could apply to jobs with high levels of stress, such as police officers, healthcare workers, or air traffic controllers. It could also apply to difficult workplaces or hostile working conditions.

How Can You Prove That Your Mental Health Condition Prevents You from Working?

The impact of a mental health condition can be invisible to others. Unlike a broken bone, sprain, or other physical injury, there might be no obvious signs of a problem. Yet anxiety, PTSD, depression, and other conditions can cause difficulty concentrating, panic attacks, and other symptoms that make work impossible.

As with any claim, you need medical evidence to prove the extent of your injury or illness. For a claim based on a mental health condition, your evidence might include the following:

• Work-related documentation. This might include incident reports, emails, memos, or other documents that describe workplace stress or trauma.
• Medical records. Whether you've been treated by a psychologist, psychiatrist, or therapist, you'll need to provide medical records describing your diagnosis, the nature of your condition, and how it prevents you from working. Helpful records might include therapy notes, psychiatric evaluations, and treatment plans.
• Witness testimony. It might bolster your claim to supply statements from coworkers, supervisors, or others who can explain the work-related circumstances that contributed to your mental health issues.

Contact a Workers' Comp Attorney

Workers' compensation claims based on mental health conditions are some of the hardest to win. For that reason, you'll want an experienced workers' comp attorney on your side to give yourself the best possible chance of success. Most workers' comp lawyers don't charge a fee up-front and are paid only if you win your case.