Pain and Suffering Compensation for a Workplace Injury

No, the workers’ compensation system in California does not include pain and suffering as one of the available benefits to injured workers. You may also be asking yourself, “Can I get emotional distress recovery for workplace injury at work?’ Unfortunately, damages for non-tangible losses cannot be recovered from workers’ comp, so emotional distress and pain and suffering are not covered by a workplace accident or injury claim.

However, you can receive pain and suffering compensation for a workplace injury if someone (other than your employer) is responsible for the injury. This is known as a third party lawsuit, and many workers are eligible to file a separate claim for payments that are not covered by worker’s comp.

If you suffered serious injuries that resulted in pain and suffering during the course of your job duties, please contact our law firm as soon as possible. We have a team of work accident lawsuit attorneys with decades of experience in dual-claims. Our legal team looks forward to speaking with you during a free, private case review.

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What is Covered by Workers’ Compensation?

Worker’s compensation offers medical and wage replacement assistance for employees who were injured from an accident at work (or while performing a work-related task). Alternatively, workers may be injured from long-term repetitive tasks that result in medical conditions like carpel tunnel. This is another situation where you can seek workers’ compensation benefits.

California’s WC system pays for the cost of medical expenses like doctor’s appointments, physical therapy, medication, hospital stays, and medical devices. Workers also receive temporary or permanent disability benefits to make up the wages they lose during the recovery period.

The majority of workers are able to resume their job duties after a recovery period of several weeks or months. Based on the type and degree of injury, some workers are able to work part time or modify their employment duties to accommodate the injury.

If you have a work injury that causes long-term or permanent impairments, you may be eligible for permanent disability payments. How much you will receive is based on the disability rating you are assigned by the insurance company and your average weekly wages.

In the event that someone passes away form a work-related injury or illness, the spouse and immediate family members may be entitled to death benefits for the loss of financial support and funeral costs. Loved ones can also explore the option of filing a wrongful death lawsuit if the source of injury is an entity / individual other than the victim’s employer.

Can I Get Emotional Distress Recovery for an Injury at Work?

As worker’s comp does not include pain and suffering compensation, it’s important to learn about other legal actions that may be available to you, like filing a personal injury lawsuit. So, let’s look at the full range of legal option you can explore with a work accident injury lawyer:

• Third-Party Claim – in the event someone other than your employer or coworker caused or contributed to the injury, you may have the right to pursue a lawsuit against them. A common example is accidents caused by defective products at your job, which can form the basis of a product liability claim. Unlike a claim workers’ comp, personal injury lawsuit allow for the recovery of non-economic damages such as emotional distress and pain and suffering.
• Psychiatric Injury Claims – the workers’ comp system in California does provide benefits for those with qualifying psychiatric injuries. These include mental health conditions that result from a workplace accident, like post-traumatic stress disorder from a car accident while making a delivery. Please note that you will extensive medical evidence to show that there is a link between the incident at work and your mental health issues.
• Personal Injury Claim Based on Willful Misconduct – While these cases are uncommon, there are situations where an employee’s illness or injury was caused by serious and deliberate misconduct by the employer. If your situation falls into this category, you may have a case for pain and suffering. However, these are extremely difficult cases to prove, so you will need to obtain legal representation right away.

Injuries That are Not Covered by Workers’ Compensation in California

Aside from the benefits you are entitled to, it’s important to be aware of injuries that are not covered by workers’ compensation. Obviously, injuries that are not tied to your employment are excluded from coverage by workers’ comp. In addition, you cannot claim workers’ compensation for injuries that are self-inflicted or due to negligent conduct on your part (horseplay, fighting, etc.). This includes accidents caused by intoxication or substance abuse, or because you chose to ignore or violate work safety rules.

How Can a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Help Me?

At the end of the day, only you can decide if hiring a lawyer is right course of action. However, the legal system for a work injury claim can be quite complicated, especially if you have extenuating circumstances like pre-existing injuries. You may also have the choice of filing a personal injury lawsuit in addition to a WC claim. Managing dual claims and fighting for damages like pain and suffering is very difficult, especially when you are struggling to recover from a serious injury.

That’s why we encourage you to reach out and talk to a member of our legal team. There is nothing to lose, since we will provide you with a free consultation. If you are interested in hiring us for a work injury accident case, you will not be charged upfront for the cost of legal services. Our fees are obtained only if we succeed in bringing you compensation from a successful claim. That’s the premise of the Zero Fee Guarantee, which all clients receive from the moment they contact us.

The process begins with a free initial consultation, which you can schedule by contacting us today.

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