Can I take legal action against my previous employer for giving me PTSD?
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Can I take legal action against my previous employer for giving me PTSD?
I have reason to believe my previous employer’s misconduct towards me gave me complex PTSD. If I were to be professionally diagnosed, would I have grounds for any legal claims against them?
Asked on July 21, 2016 under Personal Injury, North Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
No, you would not have a legal claim. To be blunt, work stress or how your employer acts towards you is simply nothing that you can receive compensation for. The law of this land is "employment at will": that means, among other things, that an employer has no obligation to treat an employee well, fairly, reasonably, etc.; the employer is allowed to make the job as stressful and awful as it wants; and if an employee does not want to work under those conditions, the employee's option or recourse is to leave employment and seek other work (because employment at will means not only that your employer can fire you at will; it also means you can leave employment at any time, without notice or even explanation). So if you stay in a bad job, that is your free choice, and you cannot receive compensation for your free choice.
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
No, you would not have a legal claim. To be blunt, work stress or how your employer acts towards you is simply nothing that you can receive compensation for. The law of this land is "employment at will": that means, among other things, that an employer has no obligation to treat an employee well, fairly, reasonably, etc.; the employer is allowed to make the job as stressful and awful as it wants; and if an employee does not want to work under those conditions, the employee's option or recourse is to leave employment and seek other work (because employment at will means not only that your employer can fire you at will; it also means you can leave employment at any time, without notice or even explanation). So if you stay in a bad job, that is your free choice, and you cannot receive compensation for your free choice.
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