When it comes to work-related injuries, there are some that are more typical for certain professions than others. Take for example fire fighters who are more likely to suffer burns while on the job or construction workers who run the risk of head traumas and broken bones because of the work they do every day.
Sadly, this often means that if someone develops a work-related injury that is not considered typical for their occupation, their claim for workers' compensation falls under incredible scrutiny by their employer. Our California readers can see this exemplified by a case out of Virginia where just such a thing happened to a UPS driver who developed post-traumatic stress disorder while on the job.
As you can imagine, PTSD is not typically considered a work-related condition for package delivery occupations. But in the case of this particular UPS driver, it was, especially after coming across the dead body of a woman for whom he had been delivery packages too and had built a rapport. The woman had been murdered in her own home, a scene anyone would consider gruesome and frightening to witness.
But when he filed for workers' compensation, he met considerable push back from his employer who argued his experience "did not constitute a 'sudden shock or fright' that would allow compensation for a purely psychological injury." This went against the opinion of the workers' compensation commission who deemed the man's claim legitimate and worthy of compensation.
It wasn't until after appealing his claim in court that the man was finally awarded compensation.
Source: Courthouse News Service, "Murder Scene Find Nets UPS Driver PTSD Benefits," Jeff D. Gorman, Sept. 29, 2014
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