Over the past century, workers' compensation has become a central fixture in the American legal framework. The underlying premise of workers' compensation is that employees injured while doing their jobs should be compensated by their employers, regardless of whether the employer is at fault. In return for the increased certainty of compensation, injured employees receive far less compensation than they could receive via successful tort actions. Although this framework seems more straightforward than traditional tort law, a number of challenging and complex issues have arisen. One such issue is the compensability of mental injuries.Courts and legislatures have adopted a number of approaches for addressing "mental-mental" claims, which involve mental impairment caused by mental stimuli (for example, stress). To better understand the difference between such a claim and other types of claims, imagine two persons. The first became physically disabled after falling down the steps while delivering office mail. Shortly thereafter, this individual became severely depressed. The second individual worked in a high-stress environment and faced many difficult deadlines that would result in dire consequences if not met. After an increase in workload, this person became severely depressed.
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