If I am a Veteran Can I Still Make a Work Comp Claim and Apply for PERA Duty Disability Benefits as a Result of My Work-Related PTSD?

If you are a veteran and develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of being exposed to traumatic event(s) during the course and scope of your employment, you can absolutely bring a workers’ compensation claim under the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Act as well as obtain Duty Disability benefits from the Public Employee Retirement Association (PERA). In fact, many of our police officer, firefighter, State Patrol, and corrections officer clients at Meuser Law Office, P.A. who have developed work-related PTSD have served in the military, including service in combat roles. Veteran status does not preclude an injured worker with PTSD from obtaining wage loss benefits, medical benefits, and rehabilitation benefits under the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Act as well as Duty Disability benefits from PERA.

Even the exposure to past traumatic events as the result of military service does not preclude police officers or corrections officers from bringing a workers’ compensation claim or obtaining PERA Duty Disability benefits. Minnesota Workers’ Compensation law does not require that the work-related injury be the sole cause of a condition. Past traumatic events not related to work activities can still contribute towards the development of an injured workers’ PTSD and his or her condition may still be compensable.

Minnesota Workers’ Compensation law requires only that the work injury be a substantial contributing cause or factor to the employee’s condition.  Swanson v. Medtronics, 443 N.W. 2d 534 (1989).  Moreover, an injury is compensable where it aggravates or accelerates a pre-existing condition.  Wallace v. Hanson Silo Co., 235 N.W. 2d 363 (Minn. 1975). In these cases, medical experts must document that an employee’s work activities aggravated, accelerated, and/or combined with a pre-existing condition to result in his or her new injury sustained in the course and scope of his or her employment.

When determining if a condition is compensable, judges consider factors such as:

• The nature and severity of the pre-existing condition and the extent of restrictions and disability resulting there from.
• The nature of the symptoms and extent of medical treatment prior to the aggravating incident.
• The nature and severity of the aggravating incident and the extent of the restrictions and disability resulting there from.
• The nature of the symptoms and the extent of medical treatment following the aggravating incident.
• The nature and extent of the employee’s work duties and non-work activities during the relevant period.
• Medical opinions on the issue.  McClellan v. Up North Plastics, slip. Op. (W.C.C.A. October 18, 1994).

PERA Duty Disability law does not have as much extensive case law surrounding the issue of pre-existing conditions. The definition of “Duty Disability” as set forth in Minnesota Statutes § 353.01, subdivision 41 (2013), requires only that the individual suffer from “a condition” that “is the direct result of an injury” (emphasis added). Like in the work comp system, claimants need expert medical opinions explaining the relationship between the work exposures and the subsequent PTSD. Moreover, PERA, unlike work comp, is a technically a neutral agency where the work comp system is an adversarial process.

If you have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of traumatic work exposures contact Meuser Law Office, P.A. for a free no-obligation consultation. The attorneys at Meuser Law Office, P.A. are experienced and knowledgeable in this unique area of the law and can help you obtain the benefits to which you are entitled under the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Act as well as PERA Duty Disability benefits. You may also be entitled to wage loss benefits under Minnesota Statute §299A.475 in conjunction with your other claims.
Call us today at 1-877-746-5680.

by Mary Beth
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