Question: What kinds of employee injuries are not covered under workers’ compensation insurance?

Under the current Florida law, workers’ compensation insurance policies do not provide compensation for the following conditions:

- A mental or nervous injury due to stress, fright, or excitement

- A work related condition that causes an employee to have fear or dislike for another individual because of the individual’s race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or handicap

- “pain and suffering” has never been compensable in Florida, nor is it compensable in any other state. The employer may not sue an injured worker for causing a catastrophe nor can the injured worker sue the employer for their injury. This trade-off makes it possible for injured workers to receive immediate medical care, at no cost to the injured worker, without any consideration for who was at fault, the employer or the employee. In civil law, negligence must be established through litigation before any compensation is awarded.

- If the injury is caused by the employee’s willful intention to injure or kill himself or another

- If the injury is caused primarily because the employee is intoxicated or under the influence of drugs

- If the injury or death of the employee is covered by the Federal Employer’s Liability Act, the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, or the Jones Act (if the employee is a seaman or member of a crew).

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