What term describes the level of causation required for psychiatric injury when the events of employment must be a substantial cause?

• A. 5-10%
• B. 60-70%
• C. 35-40%
• D. 90-100%

Answer: (C)

Substantial cause means the workplace events must contribute a meaningful portion to the psychiatric injury—not just be a minor or incidental factor. In this context, the standard is described as a substantial contribution, which is often illustrated as around one-third of the causation. That’s why the range 35-40% best represents a substantial contribution: it shows a real, non-trivial role of the employment events without needing them to be the sole or majority cause. A contribution of 5-10% would be too small to count as substantial, while higher ranges like 60-70% or 90-100% exceed the usual threshold used to illustrate “substantial” in this setting.