For those knowledgeable in Minnesota work comp, it has been the law that only certain mental injuries are compensable including mental/ physical and physical/ mental. However, mental/mental injuries have not been compensable under Lockwood v. Indep. Sch. Dist.. In the case, the Minnesota Supreme Court construed the Workers’ Compensation Act to not allow compensation for mental disability caused by work-related stress without “physical stimulus,” “trauma” or “injury.” It required that there be a “physical” component to the injury. The Bemidji Pioneer reported that a recent trial court decision may cause the WCCA and the Minnesota Supreme Court to take another look at the Lockwood decision.
The full article can be found here.
It was reported that Missy Dodds, a former Red Lake High School math teacher, recently prevailed at a workers’ compensation hearing, with the help of her attorney, by establishing that her work related mental stress caused a physical injury to her brain.
Missy Dodds was teaching on March 21, 2005 at the Red Lake High School, when 16-year-old Jeff Weise began shooting at the school which killed five other students. At one point, Jeff Weise had pointed the gun at Dodds and pulled the trigger. The gun was empty.
Dodd’s attorney was able to prove at hearing that Dodds sustained a physical injury to her brain as a result of the trauma. The compensation judge wrote in his decision that “the mental stimulus, which was the extreme mental stress that the employee experienced at work on March 21, 2005, produced a physical injury to the employee’s brain that has left her with severe and unrelenting PTSD, depression and anxiety,” The compensation judge went on to state,“the mental stimulus also produced physical injury to the neck and shoulders, which would make the case compensable even if there is no physical injury to the brain.”
Although the decision does not appear to overrule Lockwood, it does cut into the decision by allowing those who experience extreme mental stress resulting in a mental or psychological injuries the ability to claim a “physical injury” to the brain. Therefore, allowing the injured worker the ability to recover benefits, where previously they would be unable to get compensation.
It is unknown at this time if the matter will be appealed to the WCCA.
Red Lake High School shooting: Teacher wins landmark case | Bemidji Pioneer Press
