Workers Compensation

A workers compensation claim is one type of personal injury claim and injuries in the workplace are not uncommon. Manual workers are most at risk but many office workers suffer injuries as well. An injury can be psychological as well as physical. 

As an injured worker you may be eligible for work compensation. Workers compensation laws vary considerably across Australia and so the State or Territory in which your injury took place will impact your entitlements to workers compensation payouts.

How do you know if you have a good work compensation claim?

The best thing to do is seek legal advice from workers compensation solicitors. You will need to speak with a worker’s compensation solicitor (or worker’s compensation lawyers) who has knowledge of the applicable laws. This is not necessarily based on where you live but where the work injury occurred.

By contacting worker’s compensation lawyers you can find out all your entitlements to Workers’ Compensation.

It is very important to lodge the claim soon after the injury occurred as time limits may apply. Workers compensation claims may include a statutory claim which is a claim through your employer from their Workers’ Compensation insurer to cover a variety of things such as:

• Loss of earnings
• Medical expenses
• Travelling expenses
• Rehabilitation expenses
• A lump sum payment (for a permanent injury)

Where there is a permanent aspect to the injury and if there has been negligence on behalf of the employer, in some States or Territories you may have additional legal entitlements under common law. If you do have entitlements your workers compensation payout may be much improved.

Common law claims are otherwise known as negligence claims. Once again, the workers compensation laws vary considerably as to whether or not you have entitlements. There may be thresholds in place which means the severity of injury will impact your ability to claim. Depending on where you live you may be entitled to thousands of dollars in compensation that may compensate you for the rest of your working life, especially if you are young and unable to return to work.  Worker compensation can assist you in making the necessary adjustments in your life.

When workers compensation payouts are calculated by the workers compensation insurer future losses are not taken into account. An offer of a lump sum payment may not alleviate financial pressures if you are unable to return to work, or unable to return to a job that pays the same level of income as the one you had at the time of injury.

<< More Information on Injury Claims based on Work Accidents

Nothing in this website should be construed as legal advice and is simply general introductory information. Please contact us to arrange for advice specific to your circumstances.