For an employee to recover for psychological or mental injuries, the employee must have suffered a physical injury to the body and the physical injury must be a proximate case of the psychological injury. The test to be applied is the “contributing cause standard.” Ex parte Vongsouvanh, 795 So.2d 625 (Ala. 2000); CVS Corporation, Inc. v. Frances Smith, 981 So.2d 1128 (Ala.Civ.App. 2007). The physical injury does not have to be the sole proximate cause. To establish medical causation between the physical injury and the mental disability, the employee need only show that the physical injury was a factor contributing to the mental injury.

Please see full article below for more information.