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If you are a worker who has suffered a work place accident or injury at work you will need to be aware of the proposed changes in Queensland legislation that may have a great impact on the QLD WorkCover scheme. This means if you are injured and your injury has left you with a permanent impairment, the severity of the impairment will have to be much greater in order to qualify for a common law claim, if the proposed changes are accepted. Currently the level of impairment that allows you to pursue a common law claim is 0%. The Queensland Government are proposing that the percentage of impairment is to be lifted as high as 15% or more.
When you have suffered a work injury there are two ways to obtain compensation. The first is a statutory claim, which is a claim that is awarded regardless of who is at fault. Just suffering an injury whilst at work is enough to pursue a statutory claim which is a claim processed through WorkCover QLD. Benefits under the WorkCover QLD scheme include recovering losses such as; medical expenses, loss of income; or if there has been a permanent impairment you may be entitled to a lump sum payment. However, under the proposed changes the lump sum payment may be significantly reduced.
As a worker, if your employer or colleague has been negligent and that negligence caused the accident to occur, then you are entitled to take legal action under the common law system. Employers are covered by insurance by WorkCover QLD through their accident insurance policy so you do not have to worry as your employer won’t pay compensation to you, it will be paid by WorkCover QLD (who are the insurance company). However, under the proposed changes your percentage impairment may need to be up to 15% or more. You must not sign anything if you wish to pursue a common law claim.
Once a notice of assessment (NOA) from WorkCover QLD has been received it is very important that you seek legal advice BEFORE you sign. If you sign you will be prevented from pursuing a common law claim. Get legal advice first from a personal injury lawyer and be sure of all your entitlements.
If you believe you have a case for common law claim is has been recommended by WorkCover Queensland that you seek advice from a work injury lawyer (attorney or solicitor). It is recommended that you seek legal advice sooner rather than later as time limits apply when making a common law claim for compensation which is currently 3 years from the date of the injury, however, this may be subject to change under the new proposed changes.
As an injured worker you have a legal right to compensation and if there has been any negligence, a common law claim (or negligence claim) may compensate you more than a statutory claim. You may have a legal right to this compensation and your injury can have a detrimental impact on your life and on you as a person.
If you have suffered a work injury you can take the following steps:
It is wise to consult a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible following your injury as time limits apply. It is strongly advised that you do not sign the Notice of Assessment until you have received legal advice first otherwise you may not receive all your entitlements. Seeking legal advice may make a big difference to your claim for compensation.