ABNORMAL WORKING CONDITIONS AND MENTAL STRESS CLAIMS IN PENNSYLVANIA WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CASES

To prove that a mental stimulus caused a mental injury in Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation requires a demonstration that abnormal working conditions were present. Normal workplace stress is NOT an abnormal working condition. So if your boss is difficult and gives you a lot of work, and it causes you depression or anxiety, it’s not a compensable claim.

However, if you are working in a cubicle for a law firm, and suddenly an intruder bursts in and robs you at gunpoint- well, that will meet the requirement of an abnormal working condition- because it’s not merely a subjective reaction to a normal workplace stress, but something so foreign to the type of work that you do, that it’s objectively abnormal.

On the contrary, if you are a police officer and are traumatized by seeing a deceased person at a traffic accident, that’s likely not going to meet the standard- because as gruesome and difficult as that may be to witness such horror, it’s not to be unexpected in that line of work.

Abnormal working condition cases are highly fact sensitive. To analyze them properly, the attorney must comprehend exactly what happened and ask “is this something entirely unexpected or foreign for this type of work?” If the answer is no, then you will have an uphill battle.

For more information about Pennsylvania Work Comp, call Cardamone Law 7 days a week at (215) 206-9068 or email Michael@CardamoneLaw.com

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