For many workers across America, their job is hurting them just as much or more than it is sustaining them. The pressure to produce at a high level can be crushing, causing many people to reconsider if working for one employer or another is truly worth the drain on their personal will just because the paycheck is substantial. To make matters worse, just because a job comes with a significant salary doesn’t mean that the company will treat employees fairly.
This heartbreaking truth recently came into sharp focus when a young man working for a very well-recognized transportation company took his own life after suffering psychological harm in the harsh work environment. Sadly, the man tried to play within the rules and filed a workers’ compensation claim to seek proper medical attention for his extreme job-related anxiety. However, the company denied the claim on a technicality. Because psychological benefits typically only kick in after six month of employment, and the man had worked for the company less than five months, the claim was denied. Shortly after having his workers’ compensation claim denied, and confiding in friends that his job had completely crushed him, the man took his own life.
The company is now facing serious legal action, and will have to answer for choosing to deny the workers’ compensation claim when California law clearly states an exception to the six-month rule if the psychological injury is brought on by a sudden, harsh work-related stress.
If you believe that your job is harming you psychologically, please seek proper medical treatment and reach out to an experienced workers’ compensation attorney to help you get the coverage and benefits you deserve. Your family and loved ones will thank you.
Source: San Francisco Chronicle, “Suicide of an Uber engineer: Widow blames job stress,” Carolyn Said, April 25, 2017
