While having a job can be stressful for anyone, feeling a little overwhelmed is a lot different than feeling constant stress or anxiety about your job security or performance. Real emotional distress can cause real problems in your life, and even – get this – compromise your ability to do your job effectively. The good news though is, Michigan law, and our spectacular attorneys at Aiello Law Group, have your back and can protect you if you have developed serious stress or anxiety from your job by helping you secure medical and wage loss benefits with workers’ compensation.
Can You Sue An Employer For Emotional Distress?
Though you can technically sue and employer for emotional distress, the eventual outcome may not be what you expect. Even process to prove benefit entitlement isn’t easy since emotional distress can be difficult to diagnose, and it is up to the employee to find a way to do so. Plus, insurance companies love to deny claims by any means necessary, and those based on emotional distress and anxiety are easier to dispute legally since there is no definitive way of confirming that any real, diagnosed anguish you may be suffering is the fault of your employer. Your best chance is to seek counsel from highly trained, experienced attorneys, like ours at Aiello Law Group, and collect as much evidence of your pain as possible. Just know though, even if you succeed, you will not be able to claim pain or suffering. With this type of claim, you will only ever be able to secure total medical coverage and wage loss benefits. Though, you will be able to receive all treatments for zero copay and no deductible, including counseling, inpatient treatments, and necessary medications; and 80% of your after-tax weekly earnings throughout the length of your disability!
Can You File A Lawsuit For A Bad-Faith Claim?
This is where things can get tricky, as courts have gone back and forth in the past on their stance regarding the pursuit of supplementary damages for emotional distress, even in cases of intentional distress. For instance, the dispute of benefits is not just cause for a lawsuit. However, there are some cases seen by the Michigan Court of Appeals where employees have successfully filed civil action suits for bad-faith claims on the basis of “(1) extreme and outrageous conduct; (2) intent or recklessness; (3) causation; and (4) severe emotional distress.” Proving bad-faith, of course, is known to be immensely difficult – even harder than filing a claim for emotional distress, which is why having the right support from the right attorneys is crucial.
For more answers and information on navigating the challenges of your own emotional distress, and the likelihood of filing a successful claim, please, turn to our phenomenally skilled workers’ compensation attorneys at Aiello Law Group today at 313.964.4900 or fill out the form in the sidebar or on our contact page, and learn more about how we can help you.
