Workplace Injury

Types of workplace compensation

There are three separate and distinct forms of workers compensation that may be available:

1. Weekly compensation payments during any incapacity for work.
2. Payment of reasonably necessary medical expenses by the insurance company, including travelling expenses to and from such treatment.
3. Lump sum compensation for impairment to your person arising from those injuries, which needs to be determined by a suitably qualified doctor.

Who can claim?

Workers compensation is available to employees and sub-contractors who’ve been in an accident or sustained an injury at work, whether they’re at fault or not. Click on the links below for information on specific occupations:

• Construction Workers
• Hospitality Workers
• Office Workers
• Warehouse Workers
• Tradesmen
• Nurses & Aged Care Workers
• Emergency Services Professionals
• NSW Coal Miners
• Baggage Handlers

The lodgement of any workers compensation claim should be made promptly as there are time limits that for such claims to be made. Accordingly it is vital that you report the injury promptly and lodge any claim for compensation as soon as possible. 

It is vital that you seek and obtain early legal advice from a WIRO approved lawyer in respect of the lodgement of these documents. Failure to do so will inevitably lead to future difficulties.

What will it cost?

We are WIRO approved lawyers and don’t charge you anything for our work, we are paid by the Workers Compensation Independant Review Office (WIRO). 

We don’t even ask you to pay for the expenses, we cover those too until we are reimbursed by WIRO funding at the end. 

Accordingly you will not be out of pocket at any stage. 

How will it affect my employer?

Workers compensation insurance is compulsory in NSW. Your employer pays it so that if you are injured you are covered. The effect of any such claim is minimal on your employer and is no different in effect to you claiming on your own home or car insurance if your home is robbed or if your car is involved in an accident.

I would like to claim compensation but am reluctant to see lawyers

Claiming workers compensation can be stressful and worrying for some people. Not only do you have to cope with the physical pain from your injuries but people are usually placed under severe financial hardship by the inaction of insurers who do not pay compensation promptly or reliably. 

As specialist workers compensation lawyers, we protect your interests and prevent insurance companies from failing in their obligations to you. If you fail to obtain good legal advice from a specialist and WIRO approved workers compensation lawyer you could put yourself at a significant disadvantage. After all the insurance company always use specialist compensation lawyers, why shouldn’t you.

Employer negligence

These days, common law claims against employers in negligence are very limited. That is because the Government has passed laws which say that no matter how guilty your employer was, you are only entitled to bring a negligence (Work Injury Damages) claim if you are assessed as having 15% or greater Whole Person Impairment (WPI)

Even if you qualify your work injury damages are restricted to past and future wage loss. But at least this gives you some means of recovering the difference between what you are receiving on workers compensation and what you would be earning if still working. 

However you are required to give up all your future Workers Compensation rights including the rights to medical expenses. So the decision to go ahead with a negligence (Work Injury Damages) claim is a difficult one that we would need to discuss with you in depth. 

The only way we can overcome this hurdle is if your injury was caused by the negligence of a third party other than your employer. 

This is one area where a specialist compensation firm like Firths can make a big difference. We have had people come to us whose solicitors have told them there is no more that can be done for them only to find out from us that they are eligible to claim substantial lump sum compensation from third parties.