Bold Law

What entitlements are available to me

Providing you are able to prove that you were a worker and your injury arose out of or in the course of your employment, you may have the following entitlements available to you:

• weekly payments whilst incapacitated from work;
• medical expenses;
• rehabilitation expenses;
• permanent impairment
• common law damages

What do you have to do to lodge a claim -

Two things must occur for a valid workers compensation to be submitted. You must:

• provide notice to your employer about a workplace injury before you voluntarily leave the leave the employment in which the injury occurred; and

• lodge a notice of claim for compensation within six months from the date of injury occurring. If the worker has died as a result of the workplace injury, a claim must be submitted by dependents of the deceased within six months for the date of the injury.

A formal claim for compensation means that a claim form must be submitted to the employer and an approved workers compensation medical certificate.

You should always notify your employer about an injury, even if you do not intend to make a claim for workers compensation entitlements.

Once a claim has been lodged, an employer as 84 days to dispute liability for the claim or liability to pay medical expenses or weekly compensation payments.

Maintaining a claim

Once a claim has been lodged, a worker should submit to the employer receipts, invoices or other evidence of medical treatment that the worker has been forced to obtain as a result of the injury.

When a workers medical certificate runs out, they must provide a new medical certificate within 14 days of the prior certificate expiring.

Weekly payments

Weekly payments are made to the worker as follows:

• 100% of weekly payments for 26 weeks from the date of initial incapacity;
• 95% to 90% of weekly payments, exceeding 26 weeks but not exceeding 78 weeks from the date of initial incapacity;
• 85% - 80% of weekly payments, exceeding 78 weeks but not exceeding 9 years from the date of initial incapacity;

A worker maybe entitled to 95% of their weekly payments after 26 weeks or 85% of their weekly payments after 78 weeks if the worker is able to perform some work and their employer does not provide suitable duties for the worker to undertake.

Depending on the severity of your injury, a worker can remain on workers compensation benefits for a period of time exceeding 9 years. For example, a worker who is assessed as suffered from a whole person impairment of more than 30% can remain on weekly payments until the pension age.

Medical and other expenses

A worker is entitled to the following expenses:

• medical expenses
• hospital expenses
• household expenses
• nursing services
• rehabilitation services
• workplace rehabilitation services
• ambulance services
• in some cases, travelling, food and accomodation expenses

Permanent impairment compensation

Workers may also be entitled to lump sum payments for permanent impairment caused by their injuries. The amount of permanent impairment a worker might suffer is a question determined by doctors qualified to perform permanent impairment assessments.

There are thresholds put in place by the law that regulate whether a worker can apply for permanent impairment. What this means is that a qualified doctor must assess your injury above the permanent impairment threshold that applies to the part of the body you have injured.

The thresholds are:

• for the loss of any part of finger or toe - no threshold applies
• for any other permanent physical impairment - a 5% impairment threshold applies
• for a permanent psychological impairment - a 10% impairment threshold applies
• for industrial deafness. - a 5% impairment threshold applies

Common law damages

If a worker is assessed as suffering a permanent impairment of 20% or more, the worker is entitled to make a claim for common law damages.

An entitlement to common law damages means that the worker can claim the loss of their future income, future superannuation and other future needs such as medical, rehabilitation and care.

However to make a claim for common law damages, a worker must also show that the employer was at fault or negligent for causing the workers injuries.

There are strict time limits in place in which a worker must commence a common law claim. Generally legal proceedings must be issued before 3 years from the date of injury.

Dependents of workers who die in workplace accidents

If a worker dies because of a workplace accident, their dependants will generally have entitlements to make a claim for compensation. Most services such as medical, hospital, rehabilitation and care services are claimable by dependents on the proviso that the services are reasonable and necessary.

No win, no fee services

Bold Lawyers act for all workers on a no win, no fee basis. We offer you free initial consultations so you know where you stand, anywhere, anytime. If you need us to attend your place of residence because you are unable to travel we offer free home visits.