Mental injury not compensable under Worker’s Compensation Act

In a recent case before a state appeals court, the Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission (LIRC) appealed a circuit court ruling, reversing its determination that an employee hadn’t suffered a mental injury compensable under the Worker’s Compensation Act.

Background

Timothy Wotnoske was employed by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) as a correctional officer. He filed a worker’s compensation claim for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and panic disorder after experiencing several incidents, including working in prisons during two unexpected power outages, working in another when inmates rushed him after a riot, supervisors’ accusing him of work rule violations and launching investigations against him, and being sexually harassed by a coworker.

The claim was heard by an administrative law judge (ALJ). At the hearing, Wotnoske presented testimony of an experienced correctional officer who opined that Wotnoske’s experiences were unusual. A medical expert testified that Wotnoske suffered from PTSD, major depressive disorder, and panic disorder and that the above incidents caused his mental injury.

In contrast, the DOC presented testimony that Wotnoske’s experiences weren’t unusually stressful because it trains its correctional officers on how to respond to power outages and unruly inmates in its institutions. It also presented medical expert testimony that his employment wasn’t the cause of his behavioral and psychological difficulties, and his underlying personality disorder was long-standing.