A surgical assistant disabled from a compensable back injury is also entitled to workers compensation benefits for a related mental illness, Tennessee's Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
The case of Stephen Vowell v. St. Thomas Hospital involved the surgical assistant who slipped on a wet floor while moving a patient. The 2007 accident rendered him permanently and totally disabled, the opinion states.
A trial court ruled that along with benefits for his physical injuries, the employee was entitled to medical benefits for treatment of related severe depression.
But in an appeal to Tennessee's Supreme Court, the hospital asserted that the trial court erred.
Among other arguments, the employer insisted that Vowell's depression was not compensable because it did not arise from his employment.
The employer argued that based on Vowell's admission to a mental health institute and his testimony, his mental problems resulted from his loss of employment.
But the Supreme Court said that it had "no difficulty in distinguishing Vowell's mental injury from one caused solely by a loss of employment."
It therefore affirmed the trial court's judgment and remanded the case to the trial court for proceedings, consistent with its opinion.
Roberto Ceniceros writes for Business Insurance, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, email editors@workforce.com.
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