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18 Lab. Law. 137 (2002-2003)
Workplace Stress Claims Resulting from Septemeber 11th

handle is hein.journals/lablaw18 and id is 163 raw text is: 137 Workplace Stress Claims Resulting from September 11th Frances Codd Slusarz* I. Introduction On September 11, 2001, as a result of terrorist attacks in New York City, at the Pentagon, and in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, nearly 3,000 employees were killed at work, and thousands more suffered physical injuries. The number of deaths and non-fatal physical injuries has been counted, and all such victims are eligible for compensation under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund administered by the U.S. Department of Justice.1 There is, however, a large category of September 11th-related workplace injuries that is not being served in any comprehensive way: psychological injuries. Employees who suffer September 11th-related psychological injuries can only be compensated under workers' compensation. Workers' compensation coverage varies from state to state, with some states covering purely mental injuries and others not.2 Further, among the states that cover purely mental injuries, there are signifi- cant differences in what a claimant must prove. Some require that the precipitating stressor be abnormal compared with regular working con- ditions;3 others take into consideration the susceptibility of the injured employee to mental injury.4 The likely mental injuries from September 11th include increased anxiety, depression, and the more extreme con- dition, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).5 Regardless of the governing state law, the magnitude of the ter- *Frances Slusarz is an associate with Chipman, Mazzucco, Land & Pennarola, LLC. J.D., NYU School of Law, 2002; B.A., Hunter College of the City University of New York, 1993. This article was a directed research project with Professor Samuel Estreicher and was presented at New York Univesity's 55th Annual Conference on Labor in May 2002. Ms. Slusarz is especially grateful to Professor Estreicher for his guidance, insight, and wit. 1. Established under the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act, Pub. L. No. 107-42, 115 Stat. 230 (2001). 2. For example, New Jersey, Florida, Texas, and New York cover purely mental in- juries, and Connecticut does not. See generally 3 ARTHUR LARSON, LARSON'S WORKERS' COMPENSATON LAw § 56.04 (2000). 3. See, e.g., Davis v. Workmen's Comp. Appeal Bd., 751 A.2d 168, 170 (Pa. 2000) (denying workers' compensation to police officer suffering from PTSD because encoun- tering traumatic events was normal for a police officer). 4. See, e.g., Velazquez v. Triborough Bridge & Tunnel Auth., 550 N.Y.S.2d 139 (N.Y App. Div. 1989) (approving compensation to worker suffering from anxiety and depression without regard to pre-existing mental condition). 5. Ground Zero: The Impact, N.Y. TIMES, Jan. 12, 2002, at B3.

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