Some people think that being an emergency medical technician or paramedic is a fun job. While it might be fun, it’s also challenging and hard both on the body and the spirit. The men and women who respond to emergencies see some sights that no human should ever have to see.
It is isn’t surprising that the risk of being depressed or even having suicidal thoughts is higher in these emergency responders than in many other professions. People might think that these individuals get hardened to things that they encounter at work. This is a myth because they are humans just like anyone else.
Many emergency medical technicians and paramedics care deeply about the community they serve. They want to help save everybody, and they feel it when they can’t. The heart-wrenching scenes they come across don’t just fade away. They do make a big impact.
With the prevalence of depression in this industry, it is understandable why some of these workers need to seek out mental health help. Just trying to find the coping mechanisms to move forward to the next workday can be a challenge. Some might try to ignore the way they feel, but this can make the emotions fester.
Instead, emergency responders who are feeling the emotional impacts of the job need to seek out help. When things get serious, they might try turn to the workers’ compensation program to get the medical or psychological care they need. These cases are exceedingly difficult. Workers’ compensation only covers mental health cases caused by mental stimuli when the injury is caused by an abnormal working condition. What might be abnormal to “regular” workers might well be found to be a normal working condition for an EMT or paramedic. If you are trying to secure workers’ comp benefits for a so-called “mental” claim, call one of our certified specialist workers’ comp lawyers for a free case evaluation.