Kansas is considering bills on mental injuries, disabilities

Kansas lawmakers read through a new proposal on Tuesday that would extend the definition of compensable personal injury in the Workers' Compensation Act to include mental injuries and would require the use of older guidelines when determining disability.

S.B. 193 would change the definition of occupational disease to include work-related mental injuries "meaning a mental or behavioral disorder or loss of mental abilities." physical injury, "a sudden, severe emotional shock that can be traced to a specific work-related event" or "a series of work-related events after which the employee develops a psychological injury."

Legislators are also considering SB 1

89, which would require the use of the fourth edition of the American Medical Association Medical Guide to determine disability for the award of benefits to workers. The state is currently using the sixth edition, which has been challenged in courts across the country over its guidelines, which some have claimed led to reduced disability payments. The Supreme Court of Kansas on January 8 ruled that the sixth edition could reasonably be interpreted as a guideline rather than a state mandate and was constitutional under state statutes.

Both bills would enter into force after publication in the Charter.

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