Will Arizona Workers’ Compensation Cover Injuries Sustained During Workplace Violence?

Arizona Workers’ Compensation covers injuries, including claims of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), from violent events occurring while on the job. As our population grows larger, so does the increase in violence at work for any number of reasons, with some listed below.

Possible Reasons for Workplace Violence

• Loss of job without suitable reason

One reason can be the dismissal of a worker who feels he or she was targeted by the employer for unjust reasons. Those that feel they were doing good work at their jobs and, suddenly, lose that job, feel enormous rejection along with a sense of unfairness when they do not know why they lost their job, or if the excuse for termination appears falsely fabricated.

In-house politics, particularly when the working atmosphere is unhealthy at a company, can create all kinds of problems. While many workers learn how to deal with such things, others cannot manage it so well and can break under extreme stress to commit violent acts.

• On-site workplace violent robberies

Convenience stores, jewelry stores, and other workplaces where there is little police supervision become targets for local thieves. Some robbers come with loaded firearms or other weapons that may intimidate unarmed workers who fear for their lives.

When one of their co-workers dies from an assault, a remaining victim may suffer severe anxiety issues and are unlikely to return to work at that location. These employees would be covered by workers’ compensation in Arizona for the emotional trauma they experienced during the event. Those who were killed while on the job, may have surviving family members who will receive workers’ compensation benefits, including funeral expenses.

• Bombings and random shooting events

Since 9/11, people are more fearful of bombings occurring in unexpected places. While plane hijackings had occurred in previous decades, almost none had occurred solely for ramming a plane into buildings. Anyone on these planes who were traveling for business purposes would have family members who receive death benefits.

Bombings can occur at large events, such as sports events, political rallies, anywhere that large groups of people would gather together. Almost all events of this nature are now heavily guarded and scouted out ahead of the event by security and police members. Anyone working at these events would have workers’ compensation provided to them.

The Boston Marathon of 2013 was one such occurrence that no one could have foreseen, even from those responsible for checking intelligence chatter. The police, emergency medical response teams, and hospital crews would have been under extreme stress on that day with the amount injured who poured into local hospitals.

The police and Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI) had to immediately begin searching for the bombers, which meant scouring the bombed area for any clues, checking phone videos, CCTV cameras, and more. Extreme pressure was on to find the culprits before more damage could be done. Jobs of this nature require emotional as well as physical medical assistance.

If you have suffered extreme stress while on the job, call us at once for a consultation. 602-346-9009