More workers than they think experience violence at work.
Every year, thousands of California workers are hurt at work, but many of them don’t know that workers’ compensation may cover all of their injuries, especially when it comes to mental trauma. If you want to know if you can get workers’ compensation for a physical assault at work, PTSD workers’ comp claims, or psychiatric injury workers’ compensation, knowing your rights can make the difference between getting full care and being denied for no good reason. For guidance, it is always best to consult with a workers’ compensation attorney in Glendale, CA.
Violence at work can happen in any industry or job type. Patients or their family members attack healthcare workers. Employees at stores and restaurants have to deal with robberies, fights with customers, and violent shoplifting. People who work in construction or public service may be attacked by people on the street, angry drivers at construction sites, or even their own coworkers. The main point is that if you get hurt or traumatized at work because of violence from coworkers, bosses, customers, patients, or other people, California workers’ compensation may pay for both.
This article talks about what counts as workplace violence under California law, how to prove both physical and mental injury claims, why these claims are often disputed, and when you might have other legal options besides workers’ compensation. Most importantly, it shows why getting legal help right away is so important to protecting your rights after a violent event at work.
What California Law Says About Workplace Violence
In the context of workers’ compensation, workplace violence includes physical attacks, threats, or other aggressive behavior that hurts someone physically or mentally. It’s not important if the attacker meant to hurt you; what’s important is if the violence is related to your job. According to Cal/OSHA, employers have a responsibility to provide a safe workplace, which includes preventing workplace violence. [1]
It may be covered even if the attack was planned if it happened at work or because of work events. This includes violence from more than one source:
Coworkers or Bosses Employees can fight, hit, or hurt each other at work if the fights, tensions, or conditions that led to them were work-related and not just personal relationships that had nothing to do with work.
Clients, Patients, or Customers Healthcare workers are attacked by patients, retail workers are attacked during robberies, restaurant workers are hurt when customers fight, and social workers are threatened by clients. All of these people are victims of workplace violence that is directly related to their jobs.
Third Parties at Work Construction workers who are attacked by people walking by, security guards who are attacked while protecting property, and delivery drivers who are confronted by aggressive people all experience violence at work that can help them file workers’ compensation claims.
The most important thing is whether the violence was “accidental” or “intentional.”
Physical Injuries from Violence at Work
Violence at work often causes serious physical injuries that need immediate medical attention and ongoing care. Some common physical injuries are:
Trauma from Assault Punches, kicks, or being physically restrained can cause bruises, cuts, and soft-tissue injuries that last for a long time and make it hard to do everyday things.
Injuries to the Head and Concussions During violent events, blows to the head can cause concussions and traumatic brain injuries that can cause long-term neurological symptoms, trouble thinking, and chronic headaches.
Broken Bones and Injuries to Muscles and Joints People who are attacked at work often break their arms, hands, ribs, or facial bones, tear ligaments, or damage joints. This may require surgery, a long recovery period, or permanent limitations.
California workers’ compensation pays for all medical care needed to treat or ease the effects of an injury caused by violence at work. This includes doctor visits, diagnostic imaging, surgery, physical therapy, and medications. You can also get temporary disability benefits if a doctor says you can’t do your normal job duties. If the injury leaves you with permanent impairments or work restrictions, you can get permanent disability benefits. A workers compensation lawyer can help you navigate this process.
Psychiatric Injuries After Violence at Work
Even though physical injuries may heal, the psychological effects of workplace violence often last long after the visible injuries have healed. Violent events often lead to severe mental health disorders such as:
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) After being attacked at work, people often have flashbacks, nightmares, hypervigilance, and avoidance behaviors. These can make them very anxious, which makes it hard to work and live their daily lives.
Anxiety and Panic Disorders A lot of workers who have been the victims of violence get generalized anxiety, panic attacks, or a strong fear of going back to work or being in similar situations.
Depression Workplace violence can cause long-lasting depression, loss of interest in activities, trouble sleeping, and feelings of hopelessness.
California law explicitly acknowledges compensable “psychiatric injuries” when a mental disorder results in disability or necessitates treatment, diagnosed according to established criteria such as the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). [2] These psychiatric effects can be “direct” injuries that happen because of the violent or traumatic event itself, or “compensable consequence” injuries that happen because of physical assault injuries, like getting depressed after being beaten up badly. If you are suffering from a psychiatric work injury, it is important to seek legal advice.
To get psychiatric claims approved, you need to have thorough, consistent medical records that show your symptoms, a formal diagnosis, a link to specific events at work, and medical opinions about how likely it is that these events caused your symptoms.
How to Show Psychiatric Injury in a California Workers’ Comp Claim
California has specific legal requirements for psychiatric injury claims that don’t apply to injuries that are only physical. To make a successful claim, you need to know these rules.
The Main Cause Standard
Under California Labor Code Section 3208.3, you usually have to show that the actual events of your job were the “predominant cause” of your mental injury. [3] This means that work was responsible for 51% or more of all the things that caused your mental disorder.
Special Rules for Violence
It’s important to note that psychiatric injuries caused by a “violent act” or direct exposure to a major violent act have a lower threshold for causation. These cases only need “substantial cause,” which is usually understood to mean 35–40% work-relatedness, instead of the strict 51% predominant cause standard. This acknowledgment that workplace violence engenders distinct compensable psychological trauma facilitates the establishment of psychiatric claims in instances of violence.
Other Legal Requirements
In addition to proving causation, psychiatric claims often have to meet:
- Six-month employment requirement: You must have worked for the employer for at least six months (not necessarily all at once) unless the psychiatric injury was caused by a sudden, extraordinary condition or a violent event that meets the criteria.
- Post-termination restrictions: Claims filed after termination have to meet extra requirements unless there are exceptions, like documented complaints before termination.
Medical Proof and Tests
Qualified Medical Evaluators (QME) or Agreed Medical Evaluators (AME) must use legal causation language (like “predominant cause” and “substantial cause”) and link your mental illness to specific violent events at work. You can’t just say that you have stress or anxiety. You need clear medical opinions that link your diagnosed condition to the violence you experienced at work.
When claims of workplace violence may be challenged or denied
Even though the law is clear, insurance companies often use the same old tricks to fight claims of workplace violence.
“Personal” Arguments in a Dispute
Insurance companies often say that violence was “personal” and not really work-related, saying it came from private relationships or grudges that had nothing to do with work. Even when there is violence at work, adjusters may try to say that it is a personal issue that is not covered by workers’ compensation.
Claims for Conflict with Coworkers
When violence happens between coworkers, insurance companies often call it a “interpersonal dispute,” especially if there is proof that the two have been having problems for a long time. They call these situations “non-industrial conflicts” instead of “employment-related violence.”
Defense of Good Faith Personnel Action
Employers can use the “good faith personnel action” defense for psychiatric claims when the psychological injury is linked to lawful, non-discriminatory discipline, performance evaluation, demotion, or termination. This defense seeks to eliminate psychiatric injuries arising from standard employment decisions.
Problems with Causation
Insurance companies often question whether work is really the main or significant cause of psychiatric injuries. They say that stressors in your personal life, pre-existing mental health conditions, or other non-work factors are more likely to be the cause of your symptoms.
Can you sue someone in addition to getting workers’ compensation?
In most cases, the only way to get money from your employer for work-related injuries, including violence at work, is through California’s workers’ compensation system. But there may be important exceptions that let you take more legal action.
Third-Party Responsibility
You can usually file a separate personal injury lawsuit against someone other than your employer or a coworker who commits violence, like a customer, contractor, criminal attacker, or member of the public. [4] You can still get workers’ compensation benefits while the lawsuit is going on. These parallel claims can give you more money, including pain and suffering damages that you can’t get through workers’ comp alone.
Exceptions to Exclusivity for Employers
There are times when workers’ compensation exclusivity doesn’t apply because of serious and willful misconduct or certain intentional acts by the employer. You need to carefully look at the law in your case.
How hard it is to coordinate
It’s hard to handle both a workers’ compensation claim and a civil lawsuit at the same time. Decisions about settlements, releases, and liens in one system can have a big impact on your rights in the other. This is why you need experienced legal help to get the most out of your recovery.
Why it’s important to get legal help early in workplace violence cases
What you do right after a violent event at work can make or break your claim for both physical and mental health benefits.
Reporting Incidents Correctly
Writing down the incident right away, with clear descriptions of the violent act, all affected body parts, and immediate emotional symptoms, is the first step in making a strong claim. Insurers can use vague or late reports to question the credibility and cause of the claim.
Full Medical Records
Looking for medical help Reporting both physical and mental effects to healthcare providers quickly and honestly makes sure that your symptoms are recorded from the start. Adjusters can later say that psychiatric conditions are not related to workplace violence if they can reduce emotional symptoms early on, even if it is out of shame or doubt.
How to Stay Away from Common Mistakes
Some common mistakes that hurt psychiatric claims are not linking mental symptoms to specific violent events at work, giving inconsistent accounts of what happened, and delaying treatment, which gives the insurance company openings to deny causation.
How ODG Law Group Helps Workers Who Are Hurt by Violence at Work
At ODG Law Group, we know that violence at work can hurt you right away and have long-lasting effects on your mental health. We take a full approach to these complicated claims, which includes:
Correct Paperwork From the Start We help injured workers write accurate reports of violent events and file detailed claims that include both physical and mental injuries, making sure that nothing is missed in the first report.
Working Together in Medicine and Law We organize medical-legal evaluations that correctly apply the 51% predominant cause standard (or the lower substantial cause threshold for violent acts) and counter common insurance defenses like “personal dispute” or “good faith personnel action” arguments.
Strong Claims Advocacy When insurance companies refuse or delay benefits for physical or mental injuries caused by workplace violence, we fight those decisions and get you the full medical care and disability benefits you deserve.
Full Legal Plan We look into all possible options for you, such as workers’ compensation benefits and any viable third-party civil claims. We then come up with coordinated plans that will help you get the most money back while also protecting your rights in both systems.
The law should fully protect people who are hurt at work because of violence.
Being attacked, threatened, or hurt at work can leave you with physical and mental scars that can affect every part of your life. California’s workers’ compensation law says that both types of injuries deserve full protection and benefits. You shouldn’t have to suffer in silence or accept poor care just because your injuries have mental health effects.
If you have PTSD and broken bones after being attacked by a patient, anxiety and depression after a robbery at work, or any other combination of physical and mental harm from violence at work, you have the right to medical care, disability benefits, and fair compensation.
The insurance company might try to say that your claim is just a personal issue, question your mental injuries, or downplay how bad your trauma was. Don’t deal with these problems on your own. Call ODG Law Group right now to talk about your claim for workplace violence and find out how we can protect your rights, fight for your benefits, and help you heal physically and emotionally from the violence you went through at work. For a free consultation, contact us.
References
[1] Cal/OSHA. “Workplace Violence Prevention.” [2] National Institute of Mental Health. “DSM-5.” [3] California Legislative Information. “Labor Code Section 3208.3.” [4] California Courts. “Personal Injury.”
