Suicide & Workers Compensation
Yesterday, we received a call about our workers compensation client who was struggling with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (also known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy) and depression. He shot himself over the weekend. Our sympathy goes out to his loved ones.
We represented this client for over five years in both New York workers compensation and social security disability claims. We successfully fought to get him special authorization for surgery at Yale University Medical Center and psychiatric treatment. We won his social security case.
Tragedies like this one are a real kick in the gut to the lawyers and paralegals in our firm who inevitably got to know this individual well. We now have the unenviable task of filing a suicide death claim on behalf of the widow, a claim which is allowed in New York under circumstances like this.
Suicide among workers compensation claimants is rarely talked about. Over 30,000 Americans a year committ suicide. Over the last ten years, our firm has successfully litigated four suicide cases which were the result of claimant's original work related injuries. These cases all seem to follow an eerily familiar course: 1) person has severe injury on the job, 2) lives in agonizing pain, 3) loses job, 4) can't live on workers compensation alone, 5) loses home, 6) gets depressed and 7) committs suicide. We, as advocates for injured and disabled workers, must continue to convince courts and insurance carriers that psychological injuries can be just as devastating as physical ones.
I know exactly how this man felt. I was injured on the job 31/2 yrs. ago and I feel like I am being punished. I have worked on a critical care ambulance for 14 yrs. and one day while transporting a patient, we were in an accident. I was hurt. I dislocated and fractured my right shoulder, bruised all ribs on the right side, bruised my right hip and femur,and developed pneumonia in my right lung. Workers Comp actually said,"We don't believe you got hurt in the accident." I have been in hell for 3 yrs. Iam not going to tell you that I have not thought of suicide. I am in pain 7days a week/24 hrs. a day. I have had 5 surgeries on the shoulder. I am in a pain clinic. I take so much pain meds that half the time I am not with it. My family has stood by me but I feel like I am a burden to them. I would not wish this on my worst enemy. Workers Comp. has done nothing to make this easy. I have been hurt physically and emotionally, and nothing will ever make it better. I have to live with this every day, every hour of my life. It is hard, very hard. I have always been a very indepentant person. That was taken away from me. I only have about 30% usage of my right arm. I have severe nerve damage in the arm and hand. Nice, huh? My life sucks and I don't see any improvement in the future. I am very angry. Workers Comp has and still treats me like I am a criminal. I would love to go back to work but doctors told me my career is over. I am not execpting it. I won't.