Ohio workers who are injured on the job may qualify for benefits through the state workers’ compensation system. Most employees file claims with the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC), but some large employers are self-insured, meaning they pay claims directly rather than through the state fund. In those cases, you still have access to the same categories of benefits, but your claim is handled by your employer under BWC oversight.
Although the system provides comprehensive coverage, many injured workers wonder, “Will workers’ comp pay for pain and suffering?” It’s easy to see why: A serious injury can leave you with intense pain, emotional distress, and a reduced ability to enjoy daily life, but are these setbacks compensable?
The answer is no: Ohio law does not provide workers’ compensation benefits for pain and suffering. Still, in limited situations, you may have the right to file claims outside the BWC system to pursue those types of damages. This guide will outline what benefits workers’ compensation actually covers, explain why pain and suffering is excluded, and highlight circumstances where you may have other legal options.
What Workers’ Compensation Actually Covers in Ohio
Workers’ compensation in Ohio provides a defined set of benefits, which are outlined in detail below:
- Medical Care: Workers’ compensation pays for approved medical treatment related to your injury or occupational disease. This includes doctor visits, hospital stays, surgery, prescriptions, physical therapy, and necessary medical equipment. In Ohio, payment goes directly to your health care providers from the BWC or your self-insured employer. You don’t pay out of pocket and then seek reimbursement, as the system is structured to cover costs once treatment is authorized.
- Temporary Total Disability (TTD): If your injury completely prevents you from working during recovery, you may qualify for temporary total disability benefits. These benefits provide a percentage of your average weekly wage and continue until you either return to work, reach maximum medical improvement, or become eligible for another form of compensation.
- Working Wage Loss (WWL): If you return to work but earn less because of restrictions tied to your injury, wage loss disability benefits may cover part of the wage difference. For example, if you move into light-duty work at reduced pay, working wage loss benefits help offset that loss.
- Non-Working Wage Loss (NWWL): If you are medically cleared to work but unable to find suitable employment due to injury-related restrictions, you may qualify for non-working wage loss benefits. These payments help replace lost income while you actively seek work within your physical capabilities, as long as you can show good-faith job search efforts.
- Permanent Partial Disability (PPD): If your injury leaves you with a lasting impairment but you’re still able to work, you may qualify for permanent partial disability benefits. These payments are based on the percentage of permanent impairment determined through medical evaluation and reflect the long-term impact of your injury.
- Permanent Total Disability (PTD): If your injury or occupational disease prevents you from performing any sustained, gainful employment, you may qualify for permanent total disability benefits. These benefits provide ongoing wage replacement for the remainder of your life, acknowledging that you can no longer reenter the workforce.
- Scheduled Loss Awards: Ohio law also provides scheduled loss awards for the loss of a body part, the loss of use of a body part, or the loss of vision or hearing. These benefits are available regardless of your ability to return to work, since they recognize the permanent nature of certain injuries.
- Vocational Rehabilitation: If your injury prevents you from returning to your previous position, you may qualify for vocational rehabilitation services. These programs can provide job retraining, placement assistance, and other support so you can reenter the workforce in a new capacity. You may also be eligible for compensation during the time you participate in the vocational rehabilitation program.
Ohio’s workers’ compensation benefits are limited to medical and financial losses that can be documented and directly tied to your injury. As a result, you can’t receive compensation for pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, or other non-economic damages through a workers’ compensation claim. They remain outside the system and are only available through separate legal actions, such as third-party lawsuits.
Defining Pain and Suffering in Legal Terms
In Ohio, pain and suffering is classified as a type of non-economic damage. It refers to the physical discomfort and emotional distress caused by an injury, along with the impact that injury has on your daily life. Courts describe it as compensation for what you experience beyond medical bills or lost wages.
Examples include:
- Ongoing physical pain or limitations after an accident;
- Anxiety, depression, or sleep problems that develop because of the injury;
- Loss of enjoyment of hobbies, family activities, or other parts of daily living.
Unlike medical bills or pay stubs, which are objective and can be measured, pain and suffering is subjective. In Ohio civil courts, a jury or judge assigns a value to it based on evidence of how the injury affects you. Within the workers’ compensation system, this type of damage is not available. Benefits are limited to the economic losses identified above which are tied directly to your injury.
Why Workers’ Compensation Does Not Cover Pain and Suffering
Ohio’s workers’ compensation system was created as part of a trade-off between employees and employers. Before these laws existed, an injured worker had to sue their employer in civil court to recover damages, including pain and suffering. Companies usually defended themselves successfully by arguing that the worker assumed the risks of the job or caused their own injury through negligence. These defenses left many injured employees without compensation.
The current system removes that uncertainty by guaranteeing the right to seek benefits such as medical care and lost wages without requiring you to prove fault. In exchange, you give up the right to sue your employer for broader damages such as pain and suffering (although there are limited exceptions, like employer intentional torts). This arrangement applies whether your employer participates in the state fund or is self-insured. The law ensures you receive certain benefits quickly, but it limits recovery to economic losses directly related to your injury.
When and How Can You Seek Compensation for Pain and Suffering?
Although Ohio’s workers’ compensation system excludes pain and suffering, you may still have a path to these damages through separate legal claims. These options exist outside the BWC system and rely on Ohio civil law. They don’t replace your workers’ compensation claim; instead, they may run alongside it.
Third-Party Lawsuits
If a person or entity outside your employment relationship caused your injury, you may have grounds for a personal injury lawsuit. For example, if you drive as part of your job and another motorist hits you, that driver can be sued for damages that include pain and suffering.
Another common situation involves defective machinery or safety equipment – if a manufacturer sold a product that failed and caused injury, you can pursue a product liability claim against that company. In both situations, workers’ compensation still pays your immediate medical care and wage replacement, while the lawsuit addresses damages the BWC doesn’t cover.
Employer Intentional Torts
Ohio law generally shields employers from civil lawsuits, but an exception exists under Ohio R.C. 2745.01, which applies when the employer acts with the deliberate intent to cause harm. The legal standard is very narrow – you must prove that your employer acted with deliberate intent and that serious injury was a virtually certain result of their conduct.
For example, if an employer removed protective guards from machinery with full knowledge that a worker would be injured, a court may recognize an intentional tort claim as the intentional removal of an equipment safety guard creates a presumption of deliberate intent by the employer. These cases allow recovery for pain and suffering, but they require evidence of intentional wrongdoing, not mere negligence.
Toxic Exposure and Hazardous Substances
Some workplace injuries stem from exposure to harmful chemicals, asbestos, or other dangerous materials. If the product’s manufacturer or supplier failed to warn about risks or produced an unsafe material, that falls under product liability and may allow you to bring a separate civil action against them.
In other cases, if an employer makes an intentional misrepresentation about a toxic or hazardous substance and you’re harmed as a result, that may also be actionable. Both situations require extensive medical evidence linking the exposure to your condition, and they can result in damages that go beyond workers’ compensation, including pain and suffering.
Multi-Employer Worksites
Some workplaces, such as construction projects, frequently involve general contractors, subcontractors, and independent companies working on the same site. If your injury was caused by a contractor who wasn’t your employer, you may have grounds to pursue a lawsuit against that company. For instance, if a subcontractor created a hazardous condition that led to your fall, workers’ compensation would still cover your immediate benefits, but you could also seek damages from the subcontractor through civil litigation.
These exceptions demonstrate how Ohio law limits pain and suffering claims to specific scenarios outside the employer-employee relationship or in cases of intentional harm. Pursuing these claims requires a separate legal action, since they fall outside the BWC or self-insured employer system.
What About Emotional Distress and Psychological Conditions?
In Ohio, workers’ compensation may cover treatment for mental health conditions, but only when the condition directly stems from a workplace injury or occupational disease. For example, if you suffer a severe back injury on the job and later develop depression linked to chronic pain and reduced physical ability, the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) or your self-insured employer may approve medical benefits for counseling or medication. The key requirement is that the psychological condition must be clearly traced back to the original work-related injury.
Ohio workers’ compensation law doesn’t allow compensation for standalone psychological conditions caused solely by workplace stress. If you experience anxiety, depression, or burnout without an accompanying physical injury, your claim will not qualify for workers’ compensation benefits. This limitation reflects the state’s intent to restrict coverage to conditions arising from physical harm or occupational exposure.
However, that does not mean you’re without legal options. When a psychological or emotional injury is not compensable under the workers’ compensation system, employers do not receive the legal protections of the Workers’ Compensation Act. In such cases, you may be able to pursue a direct civil lawsuit for psychological harm. This can include claims based on employer negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, or other forms of unlawful conduct that fall outside the scope of workers’ compensation.
Comparing Workers’ Compensation and Personal Injury Damages
| Workers’ Compensation | Personal Injury Lawsuit |
| Medical treatment paid directly to providers | Medical bills reimbursed if negligence proven at trial or in settlement |
| Partial wage replacement (TTD, WWL, NWWL, PPD, PTD, scheduled loss) | Full lost wages and future earning capacity |
| Vocational rehabilitation services | Cost of retraining or reduced earning potential |
| No pain and suffering | Pain and suffering available |
| No punitive damages | Punitive damages possible in some cases |
| Fault does not matter | Fault must be proven |
Are You Seeking Compensation for Pain and Suffering?
Ohio’s workers’ compensation system ensures that injured employees have access to medical care, wage replacement, disability benefits, and rehabilitation services, but coverage does not extend to pain and suffering or other non-economic damages. That limitation reflects the trade-off built into Ohio law, which balances guaranteed benefits with restrictions on lawsuits against employers.
Although pain and suffering is excluded, you may still have options if another party contributed to your injury or if your employer acted with malicious intent. At Plevin & Gallucci, we represent injured workers across Ohio in both workers’ compensation claims and personal injury cases. We strongly advise injured workers to contact us before filing a workers’ compensation claim, to be sure that all your rights are protected. When you work with our law firm, we review your claim in detail, gather medical and workplace records, and pursue every benefit available under Ohio law. To schedule a free consultation with our legal team, call us today at 1 (855) 4-PLEVIN or send us a message online.
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