What are the Two Types of Compensable Psychological Injuries in New York?

Do You Know the Rule?

Only accidental injuries arising out of and in the course of employment are compensable under New York’s Workers' Compensation Law. This sometimes includes psychological injuries. 

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Categories of injury 

• Psychological injury caused by work-related stress 

• Psychological injury caused by a work-related physical injury 

Psychological injury caused by work-related stress 

This is where workplace stress causes psychological injury. 

Test for compensability:  The claimant must demonstrate that the stress that caused the claimed injury was greater than that which other similarly situated workers experienced in the normal work environment. 

Case examples: 

• The stress caused to claimant was greater than that experienced by similarly situated workers in the normal work environment when he began receiving death threats from the company’s unionized employee drivers. Kraus v. Wegmans Food Mkts., Inc., 156 AD3d 1132 (N.Y. App. Div. 2017). 

• A teacher failed to demonstrate that the stress she experienced in the workplace by being exposed to COVID-19 was greater than that experienced by similarly situated teachers. Anderson v. City of Yonkers, 227 AD3d 63 (N.Y. App. Div. 2024). 

Psychological injury caused by a work-related physical injury 

This is where a workplace accident occurs as a result of a physical impact/trauma. 

Test for compensability: The claimant must establish a causal connection between the accident and the alleged injury. 

Case examples: 

• The court remanded the case of a child protective services worker who said a dog jumped on her outside a family’s home. The court instructed the worker’s compensation board to examine whether there was a causal connection between the accident and the employee’s PTSD, anxiety and acute stress disorder. Lewis v. NYC Admin. for Children Servs., No. CV-23-0279 (N.Y. App. Div. 10/04/24). 

Types of mental health conditions that can qualify 

Conditions that may qualify include depression, PTSD, anxiety, and virtually any mental health condition that is a workplace injury can qualify. 

There is an exception for mental health conditions that are caused by "lawful personnel decision[s]" that an employer makes in good faith. These include “disciplinary action, work evaluation, job transfer, demotion, or termination." N.Y. Workers' Comp. L. § 2(7) (2024). 

Types of evidence that may bear on whether injury is compensable 

Employer reports of the incident or incidents that allegedly caused the claimant’s psychological injury. 

Medical and psychological records discussing the nature and sources of the employee’s mental health conditions. 

Testimony of workers who witnessed the incident or incidents, and/or their impact (or lack thereof) on the claimant. 

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