ACC law changed on 1 October 2008 to provide ACC cover for workers who suffer mental injury (like PTSD) from an event at work. That a person can get cover for mental injury at work, without having suffered a physical injury, is not well known. It is known that a person who has been assaulted at work during a robbery and is physically injured and also suffers PTSD will be covered for both the physical injury and the mental injury such as PTSD- so long as the PTSD is caused by the physical injuries and the events surrounding them. But in the case of mental injury without physical injury, there have been less than 10 cases before the District Court – don’t know how many claims have been successful- i.e. haven’t had to go to Court. District Court has rejected most cases because the claims have been incremental events that cause mental injury such as bullying at work over a period of time; or the events have not happened at work. District Court have made two very important decisions in 2016, a soldier serving in Afghanistan received cover for the events that occurred there; and the case of Toomey v ACC in April 2017.
