It is likely that many people in Denver believe their jobs to be stressful, but when can stress alone lead to a successful workers’ compensation claim? First, that stress would have to cause some kind of injury, illness or medical condition and then comes the difficult job of convincing officials with Colorado workers’ compensation program that it was actually work-related stress that led to the injury. Both can be difficult to prove and that is one reason why consulting a workers’ compensation attorney is so important following an injury.
In some states, extremely stressful jobs that result in heart attacks can be enough for a successful workers’ compensation claim. Though this story happened outside of Colorado, it may shed some light on how to successfully file for injured employee benefits.
A project manager who was responsible for 30 multimillion-dollar projects undeniably has a stressful job, but it appears that his job was even more stressful than most. His projects had several problems, including massive blow outs with contractors, including being yelled at and having his life threatened. In addition, there were delays in construction, construction mistakes and disagreements with foremen. One day, after a long and contentious meeting, the project manager had a heart attack.
Initially, the man was denied workers’ compensation benefits for apparently failing to show that his work stress caused his heart attack. On appeal, however, the reviewing body determined that he had shown that he experienced unusually high amounts of stress and that his position comes with more stress than the general public. Over time, that stress has affected his heart and eventually led to his heart attack, found the appellate body.
Source: Risk & Insurance, “Project manager proves working conditions caused heart attack,” Dec. 10, 2012
Find out more about workers’ compensation from a heart attack by visiting our website.
