No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers are work injury & workplace injury experts. 24/7 service to all Qld with Offices in Brisbane & Gold Coast.
As personal injury lawyers, we see the impact work injuries can have on a worker and their family. So, it is fortunate that in Queensland we have a Scheme where injured workers are able to receive benefits to assist with their medical treatment and rehabilitation and to pay their lost wages whilst they are unable to work due to their work injury. This Scheme is called “Workers’ Compensation”.
Our Workers’ Compensation Scheme in Queensland is a no-fault based scheme. This means, whether you think you have caused or contributed to your work injury occurring does not matter. You are still entitled to claim workers’ compensation for your work injury no matter fault.
In Queensland, Workers’ Compensation is available to anyone injured in the course of their work, on their way to or from work or during a work break.
Workers’ Compensation Claims and WorkCover Queensland
Workers’ Compensation is often referred to as a “statutory claim” because it is not a right at Common Law but is provided by Statute (legislation). The statute or legislation that governs workers’ compensation and work injury claims in Queensland is the Workers’ Compensation & Rehabilitation Act 2003. They are also often termed, “WorkCover Claims” because the primary insurer of workers’ compensation for employers in Queensland is WorkCover Queensland. In around 99% of cases, WorkCover Queensland pays for injured workers’ workers’ compensation claims in Queensland.
In some cases, larger employers pay for their own workers’ compensation claims and have their own Workers’ Compensation Schemes. These are called self-insurers. Strict criteria has to be met by an employer before it can self-insure for injury in the workplace in Queensland. Hence there are only 28 self-insurers in Queensland at the present time. Self insurers are usually larger companies or government bodies with a large number of employees, who can afford to self-insure.
A few large national employers and Commonwealth Government employers in Queensland use the Commonwealth Government Workers’ Compensation Scheme, “Comcare”. This is a totally different Scheme to the Queensland Workers’ Compensation Scheme and tends to be more restrictive. In this article we are solely dealing with Queensland’s Workers’ Compensation Scheme.
What Benefits are Claimable under a Workers’ Compensation Claim?
When you bring a workers’ compensation claim for a work injury, your entitlements include:
- Medical & rehabilitation expenses for the treatment of your work injuries, such as, treatment, medications, medical aids & equipment, home and vehicle modifications, care and assistance, travel etc.;
- Lost wages whilst you are unable to work or have a reduced work capacity due to your work injury;
- Lump sum compensation if your injury leaves you with a permanent impairment in function;
- Lump sum compensation if your injury results in high levels of care and assistance. For example, the need for assistance with personal care, home, vehicle and yard duties;
- Additional lump sum compensation where you suffer very serious injury.
When Does my Workers’ Compensation Claim Come to an End?
The workers’ compensation insurer is obliged to pay you your workers’ compensation entitlements until such time as your injury is determined by doctors to be “stable and stationary”. Your injury is considered to be “stable and stationary” when there is no further treatment that can improve your injury. Once your injury is determined to be stable and stationary, your workers’ compensation claim will come to an end.
Common Law Claims for Damages for Work Injury
There are actually 2 types of work injury claims you can make under Queensland’s Workers’ Compensation Scheme. The first is a workers’ compensation claim and the second is a Common Law Claim for Damages. An injured worker will have a Common Law Claim where their work injury has resulted from the wrongful act or negligence of their employer or co-worker.
It is only through a Common Law Claim that an injured worker will receive proper compensation for their injury. This is because it is only in a Common Law Claim that you can claim for all the loss and damage suffered because of your work injury. A Common Law claim includes compensation for:
- pain and suffering;
- loss of past and future income;
- past and future medical expenses and out of pocket expenses;
- loss of past and future superannuation benefits;
- past and future care and assistance required because of the work injury; and
- interest on past losses and out of pocket expenses.
You can bring a Common Law Claim for Damages whether you have brought a workers’ compensation claim or not. However, if you have claimed for workers’ compensation for your work injury, then you cannot bring your Common Law claim until your workers’ compensation claim is finalised, unless there is an urgent need to do so.
Electing between Lump Sum Statutory Compensation & a Common Law Claim for Damages – Speak to a Personal Injury Lawyer
Before an injured worker in Queensland can bring a Common Law Claim for Damages, they must make an election. They must choose whether they wish to take a lump sum statutory compensation payment for their injury, or to proceed with a Common Law claim.
A Lump Sum Statutory Compensation payment is offered to a worker by the workers’ compensation insurer, where the worker is assessed as sustaining permanent impairment of more than 0% because of their work injury. Permanent impairment is a percentage of loss of bodily function caused by an injury. So taking your body as 100% functioning, your injury may be assessed by doctors as causing you loss of overall bodily function of say 4%. For every 1% of permanent impairment assessed, the lump sum statutory offer is increased by around $3,000. So, if your injury is assessed at an impairment of 4%, you will receive a lump sum offer of around $12,000.
Lump Sum Statutory Compensation payments are typically very low. This is because they are based solely on what permanent impairment rating is allocated for the work injury. Lump sum statutory offers of compensation do not properly compensate an injured worker for their injury because they don’t include the loss of past and future income a worker suffers from the injury, or the medical costs they are likely to incur in the future. A lump sum statutory offer of $12,000 could compare to a Common Law Damages claim for the injury of $400,000 or more, depending on how extensively the work injury has impacted on the worker’s pre-injury lifestyle, functioning and employment. Hence, electing to forgo a Common Law Damages claim, could mean the loss of significant compensation to an injured worker.
It is Imperative You Speak to a Personal Injury Lawyer Expert in Work Injury Claims
Once the decision whether to accept or reject lump sum statutory compensation offered by the workers’ compensation insurer is made, it is irrevocable – meaning, you cannot go back on the decision. It is therefore very important that you speak to a personal injury expert whenever you suffer an injury in the course of your work, to ensure you’re not missing out on significant compensation.
Time Limits Apply to Workers’ Compensation Claims & Common Law Damages Claims for Work Injury
You have 6 months from the date of your injury occurring to apply for a workers’ compensation claim. If missed, you can apply for waiver, but you must have a very good explanation for doing so.
You have 3 years from the date of your work injury to bring a Common Law Claim. However, this time period will significantly reduce where you claim your injury occurred over a period of time. These time limitations are strictly applied. It’s therefore important you speak to a Senior Personal Injury Lawyer about your case as soon as possible. This will ensure you are not missing time limitations for bringing your claim.
Who Pays for my Workers’ Compensation Claim & my Common Law Claim for Damages?
The workers’ compensation insurer pays for an injured worker’s workers’ compensation claim and not the employer.
Common Law Damages claims for work injury are also paid by the workers’ compensation insurer and not the employer.
No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers are work injury experts. We specialise in work injury claims, and in fact our Principal has previously worked for, acted on behalf of and been trained in work injury claims by Queensland foremost workers’ compensation insurer.
If you’ve been injured at work and wish to know if you have a claim to pursue, you can FREE call us on 1300 388 383 Chat to us online or send us your enquiry via one of our FREE Instant Case Appraisal forms on our website. All Enquiries are FREE of charge, 100% confidential and are free of any obligation.
Your enquiry will be taken by a Senior Lawyer expert in work injury claims and this is available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So call us today. You have nothing to lose but a few minutes of your time.
No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers are Brisbane & Gold Coast work injury & workers’ compensation experts.