You May Have A Stress-Related Workers' Comp Case Due To These Difficult Situations

28 June 2018
 Categories: Law, Blog

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People often associate workers' compensation cases with workplace injuries, and while a large percentage of these cases focus on helping those who were physically injured at work, this isn't always the case. Workers' comp cases can also arise because of an employee's stress that directly resulted from the workplace. If you've encountered a significant amount of stress that you need to take leave from your job or even quit, you may wish to hire a workers' compensation attorney and discuss your situation. If he or she believes that you have a legitimate case, the attorney will work on your behalf. Here are some situations that you may have encountered.

Top-Down Bullying

You may have a legitimate workers' compensation case related to stress if you've been bullied by your managers. It's one thing for co-workers to bully you — and the company has a responsibility to give you a healthy work environment — but it's considerably more egregious if the bullying has occurred at the hands of those above you. It's ideal if you can keep records of the bullying and, if possible, also have documents such as emails that demonstrate a pattern of this behavior. Doing so can dramatically strengthen your case and help resolve issues.

Lack of Action Upon Reporting Issues

When you report an issue such as bullying to someone in your company, the company has an obligation to investigate the situation and make changes. For example, if you privately meet with a HR professional to explain how your supervisor has been acting toward you, the HR professional should speak to the supervisor's manager to discuss appropriate steps for correction. Sometimes, the supervisor could be put into a management training program or receive formal disciplinary action. If you've reported issues but they weren't resolved, thus adding to your stress, it could help your overall case.

Mistreatment Upon Reporting Issues

In severe cases of workplace bullying, the treatment that you receive may actually worsen after you make a report. The HR rep may break confidentiality and tell your boss that you complained about him or her, and your boss may actually start to treat your worse. You may not be sure about this breach of trust, but there could be situations in which your manager actually references you going to HR. Any of these issues can lead to severe workplace stress, but a workers' compensation attorney can help you by taking legal action to get you a financial settlement. If you think you have a case then you can click here to get more information