Are You Entitled To Compensation When Bullied At Work?

As a worker, you have the basic right of feeling safe while at work. The employer needs to protect your mental and physical health while on the job. While this is the case, any person can become a victim of bullying at the workplace.

At work, there need to be protocols and procedures that resolve bullying cases. However, based on how severe the harassment and bullying are, workers compensation might be available for you.

Understanding Workplace Bullying

This happens when:

  • Workers are treated in an unreasonable manner by a group of people or by another worker.
  • The unreasonable behavior is repetitive.
  • The abuse is prolonged and directed at you.
  • The bullied party feels intimidated, offended, or humiliated because of the behavior.

Unfortunately, workplace bullying comes in so many different forms. This includes cyber bullying, verbal abuse, spreading harmful rumors, and sexual harassment. In a similar way, what is considered to be unreasonable will be determined based on what is considered to be reasonable behavior.

If you did report the harassment and the bullying to the superiors but the behavior still continued, your health might have declined. In this case, you need to hire workers’ compensation attorneys as soon as you can. This is especially the case when you cannot work anymore as your health was negatively impacted. Always make a claim so you can be compensated as this happens.

What Can You Receive Through Your Claim?

When you are a workplace bullying victim, your health can be negatively affected. You can end up with long-term damage capable of affecting your future work. When this is the case, a claim can be filed so that you can recover damages for psychological injuries.

During the claims process, a medical professional is needed to confirm the injuries. Also, the doctor has to confirm that injuries most likely appeared because workplace bullying happened and not because the employer had reasonable actions.

If your workers’ compensation claim is successful, you will be compensated for your losses. This includes loss of wages when you couldn’t work, assistance to retrain, and medical expenses. You can also receive lump sum payments when you suffered a primary psychological injury that was permanent. The minimum offered for this is 15%.

Every single person that is a victim needs to contact a workers’ compensation attorney as soon as possible. This is the only way to guarantee the fact that the claim will be properly filed and will be successful.

Unfortunately, most people underestimate how serious workplace bullying is. This could be a huge mistake you should never make. Filing a claim alone, without the help of a specialist is something that should never become reality. This is because these are cases that can quickly become very complicated. The insurance companies will do all that they can to fight you and there is a pretty good possibility that the same will happen with the employer.

Having an attorney in your corner will guarantee that all your rights are respected. Also, insurance companies will not be able to take advantage of your lack of knowledge about the law and your rights.