It doesn’t matter who or what might have caused your personal injury; if you’ve suffered a workplace injury—either at work or on the way to work—we can help.
Workers’ compensation claims can be made for physical injuries, such as broken bones, sprains or burns, as well as psychological injuries due to stress, bullying or unsafe work conditions. In such claims, you may be eligible for compensation to cover medical and rehabilitation costs, wages and other losses.
Employees in Queensland are protected by the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003, which requires employers to provide compensation insurance for all workers.
And so, even if no one is “to blame” for the accident, you may still be eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits.
What will it cost to lodge a claim?
Like most services, the costs typically depend upon the work required to get the job done. However, as a “No Win, No Fee”–guaranteed law firm, you won’t be charged for professional services or outlays if we don’t win your case. And, with no hidden costs and fees much lower than industry average, you’ll always receive the lion’s share of the proceeds when you work with us.
Workplace Injury Claims FAQs
+ WHO CAN MAKE A WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIM?
- Any employee working in Queensland—including casual and permanent, full-, part-time or temporary employees—can make a workers’ compensation claim, including contractors or other non-PAYG employees, who may be covered by the Workers’ Compensation Scheme.
Plus: Even if you’re not covered by the Workers’ Compensation Scheme in Queensland, you may be able to pursue a claim for compensation against the public liability insurer of a workplace.
+ WHAT HAPPENS AFTER I LODGE MY WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIM?
- Initially, WorkCover Queensland will follow up with your employer and ask whether the employer agrees that you were injured at work. This is usually a straightforward exercise; if the employer has no issues in acknowledging your workplace injury, the claim should be accepted, no questions asked.
Occasionally, however, an employer may not agree that the injury was sustained at work. In such situations, WorkCover will need to make a decision as to whether or not it accepts that you suffered a work-related injury. If WorkCover decides that your injury was not suffered at work—which means that they are, in fact, refusing your workers’ compensation claim—we can help you to challenge that decision.
+ WHAT DO I RECEIVE IF MY WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIM IS ACCEPTED?
- You’ll typically receive 85% of your normal weekly earnings. Plus: WorkCover will fund medical treatments, rehabilitation services and some travel expenses until you reach “maximum medical improvement” (that is, until you no longer need medical treatment and/or can return to work, or your injuries are thought to be “stable and stationary”).
+ WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I REACH “MAXIMUM MEDICAL IMPROVEMENT”?
- When you reach “maximum medical improvement,” WorkCover will cease payment of wages and medical and rehabilitation expenses. You can, however, ask WorkCover to have you assessed for permanent impairment. If you qualify, WorkCover will offer a “lump sum compensation” payment, based on an assessment of the severity of your injury.
+ WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I RECEIVE AN OFFER OF LUMP SUM COMPENSATION?
- Because every claim is different, there are no right or wrong answers here. It’s completely dependent on what’s best for you in the long run.
Know, though, that if you accept the lump sum compensation, your claim is considered finalised. This means your benefits under WorkCover or insurance will be discontinued and you will have no further entitlement to compensation for that injury, except in very unusual circumstances.
And, in some situations, we may be able to help you get better results through a “WorkCover Common Law claim”.
+ WHAT IS A “WORKCOVER COMMON LAW CLAIM”?
- We can lodge a “WorkCover Common Law Claim” on your behalf within three years of your date of injury. [Note: Failure to lodge a common law claim within three years of an injury almost certainly means that you can’t proceed with this type of claim.]
As always, in such circumstances it is best to obtain expert legal advice from Patinos injury lawyers.
+ WHO PAYS FOR WORKERS’ COMPENSATION AND DAMAGES?
- Once we lodge your common law claim, WorkCover will review the submitted form to make sure that you’ve provided all of the information reasonably required to investigate your matter. WorkCover will then investigate the circumstances of your injury, including the cause and the consequences. Once these investigations are complete, WorkCover will advise Patinos as to whether they agree or not that the employer was at fault to any extent in causing or contributing to your injury.
Once WorkCover has advised us of its position, we’ll then arrange a meeting (called a “Settlement Conference”) to negotiate a sensible resolution of your claim for damages.
+ WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU LODGE A COMMON LAW CLAIM ON MY BEHALF?
- Generally, your past and future loss of income will be calculated as part of any compensation you receive. You may also, however, be entitled to receive weekly payments if you have income protection insurance or an additional lump sum payment if you have total and permanent disability insurance. We would be happy to investigate all avenues of compensation for you.
+ WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON’T SETTLE MY CLAIM AT THE SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE?
- Rest assured: About 70% of matters are resolved in settlement conferences with WorkCover, while only about 2% of matters proceed to a trial at court.
If your claim isn’t resolved at the settlement conference, we’ll prepare court documents and will advance your claim to trial at court.
Note, though, that you can make an offer to resolve your claim at any time and so can WorkCover. So the chances of your matter not being resolved by negotiations are slim.