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An employer's failure to appropriately accommodate an injured employee's restrictions upon her return to work caused her to suffer a compensable psychological injury, a tribunal has found.

NSW Personal Injury Commission Member Michael Moore accepted that having to provide modified duties for the employee created "extra stresses" in the workplace, but found the employer's handling of those stresses undermined its challenge to her workers' compensation claim.

In April 2024 the childcare educator suffered an injury to her lower back, left thigh and hip while working for Guardian Community Early Learning Centres Pty Ltd.

The employer accepted liability for her physical injury and for a secondary psychological injury – depressive disorder with anxious distress – that arose due to her physical symptoms...