WorkCover Lawyers in Victoria

It is generally in your best interest to have a lawyer for WorkCover matters. Unless your injuries are minor, you’re going to need a knowledgeable solicitor who can help you maximise your benefits and additional compensation.

The WorkCover claims process can be intimidating. We encourage you to call 1800 242 588 without delay to get expert advice from our workers’ compensation lawyers. ADM offers calm, comforting guidance and steady representation. You can trust us to act on your behalf while you focus on getting better.

Many of our WorkCover injury lawyers are Accredited Specialists in Personal Injury Law. Accreditation is issued by the Law Institute of Victoria (LIV), the state’s top organisation for legal professionals. Specialist accreditation signals our commitment to obtaining all available compensation for our clients.

The value of a WorkCover payout depends on the severity of the injury. Injuries resulting in permanent disability entitle you to additional benefits. You may also be able to make a claim for common law damages.

When making a WorkCover claim, it is vital to account for all of the available benefits and your entitlement to compensation. This is one of the first steps a workers’ compensation lawyer at ADM will take on your behalf. You may be entitled to:

• Weekly payments: This benefit compensates you for the income you lose from an injury that prevents you from working. Weekly payments are based on your pre-injury average weekly earnings (PIAWE). You will need to submit a certificate of capacity at regular intervals to continue receiving weekly payments.
• Treatment expenses: WorkCover pays for the cost of reasonable medical expenses associated with your work injury. Some services require approval from a WorkSafe agent before treatment expenses will be paid.
• Provisional payments: Workplace injuries can cause mental as well as physical suffering. Provisional payments can help you access mental health support for up to 13 weeks, whether your claim is accepted by WorkCover or not.
• Superannuation contributions: You may be entitled to superannuation contributions from WorkSafe if you receive weekly payments for more than 52 weeks. These benefits are only available if you have not reached retirement age and you do not have super through your employer.
• Permanent impairment benefit: The permanent impairment benefit is available if your work-related injury leads to certain percentages of whole person impairment. Your injuries must be stable before impairment can be assessed; this usually takes 12 months at minimum.
• Common law damages: If you were seriously injured on the job as a result of someone else’s negligence, you can lodge a claim for common law damages. Common law damages compensate you for pain and suffering and loss of income.

At Arnold Dallas McPherson Injury Lawyers, we dedicate ourselves to obtaining full benefits and maximum compensation on your behalf. Our workers’ compensation lawyers can also explore your entitlements through WorkCover if a member of your family tragically died in the course of their job. We approach each claim with calm professionalism and principled advocacy.

In Victoria, you have 30 days to notify your employer of a work-related injury. You should plan on lodging a WorkCover claim within the same time period. This maximises the likelihood that your claim will be accepted.

Workers often contact ADM worried that they have waited too long to make a claim with WorkCover. Our advice is to contact us as soon as possible so we can evaluate your situation.

For workplace accidents, the clock starts ticking on the date you were injured. If a work-related injury or condition developed over time, you generally have 30 days from the date of discovery to lodge a claim. Decades of experience in workers’ comp matters enable us to identify potential exceptions and ensure that WorkSafe accepts your claim.

Once they receive notice of your injury, your employer has an obligation to forward your claim to their WorkSafe agent within 10 days. If the claim is for a mental injury and you are seeking provisional payments, they only have 3 days.

Claims for common law damages are subject to a different time limit. You have up to 6 years to claim common law compensation. Arnold Dallas McPherson Injury Lawyers will explore your entitlement to common law damages early on so we can prepare a strong claim on your behalf.

If an injury, illness or condition you have suffered is in any way connected to your work, then you may be entitled to WorkCover benefits. WorkSafe agents have 28 days to assess your claim and decide whether to accept or reject it.

If an injury happens due to the duties that you perform at work on a specific day, then it should be relatively easy to prove that an injury is work-related. WorkCover lawyers at ADM can investigate and gather needed evidence on your behalf.

Often, injuries do not arise on a single day but build up over time due to the work that you do from day to day. ‘Over the course of employment’ injuries are very common. We often see this with repetitive strain injuries in the neck, shoulders, back, hips, knees, etc.

Your doctor may be able to identify whether your injury is due to the type of work that you do. A workers’ compensation lawyer can assist you in completing your WorkCover Claim Form to clearly indicate that your injury has occurred over time in the course of your employment.

Sometimes workers are required to do work duties outside of normal work hours and the usual place of business. If those duties are work-related and you are injured, you are still entitled to WorkCover. A classic example is being injured whilst getting work tools or other items out of your car at home.

A WorkCover lawyer at ADM can help if your employer or WorkSafe disputes liability for a job-related injury. We understand that adverse decisions can be discouraging, and we will fight for the benefits and any additional entitlements you deserve.

To make a claim, you should:

• Report the injury to someone in authority at work. If there is a Register of Injuries at your workplace, make sure you report it there. Whatever you do, make sure the report is in writing and get a copy of the written report. The report should be made within 30 days.
• See your doctor and obtain your first certificate of capacity. This certificate establishes your entitlement to weekly payments. It is valid for up to 14 days while you are unable to or are restricted from work.
• Complete a WorkCover claim for compensation and give it to your employer. Claim forms are available at post offices, from the Victorian WorkCover Authority and at ADM’s offices throughout Victoria.

Your employer passes your claim on to the WorkCover insurer, unless it is a minor claim (a minor claim is when you are expected to be off work 10 days or less or your medical expenses are expected to be minimal). The insurer then has 28 days from when it receives the claim from your employer to make a decision.

During this time, it is likely that the insurer will send you to a doctor who will provide a report to help the insurer to decide your claim. If your claim is rejected or there is a delay in a decision being made, you can refer your claim to conciliation.

Arnold Dallas McPherson Injury Lawyers have extensive experience representing clients in the conciliation process. We can handle the Application for Conciliation and help you prepare for the conciliation conference.

Our office in Bendigo is located less than 1km from the Workplace Injury Commission’s Bendigo TAFE, where local conciliation conferences are often held. We know the area, we know the people involved and we have extensive familiarity with the conciliation process at this location.

There are a number of different benefits available to you if your WorkCover claim is accepted.

Our WorkCover lawyers can discuss each of the following in detail at your FREE consultation:

Weekly Payments

A weekly wage calculated based on what you were earning prior to injury is payable for up to 130 weeks. Your entitlement to weekly payments is based on your ability to work (if any) and the length of time your capacity for work is affected.

Medical Expenses

WorkCover will pay for medical appointments, treatments and medication, provided they are reasonable and are related to your work-related injury. Other costs that you may have (such as gardening, home help, car modification and the like) may also be paid by WorkCover, provided you have a medical referral and approval from your WorkSafe agent.

Provisional Payments

Early treatment is critical for mental injuries. If you suffer a work injury that results in ‘significant behavioural, cognitive or psychological dysfunction’, WorkCover will provide provisional payments for early access to mental health care. These payments are available for up to 13 weeks, and they are paid regardless of whether your claim is ultimately accepted.

Lump Sum Compensation

If your injury leads to permanent impairment, WorkCover may pay a lump sum benefit to you. You may also be entitled to a common law payment for pain and suffering and loss of income if your injury is deemed ‘serious’ and someone else is responsible for it.

Workers’ compensation lawyers at ADM can explain all of the WorkCover benefits you may be entitled to. Our team handles all communications and paperwork so you can focus on what’s most important: recovering from your injuries and, hopefully, moving towards a return to work.

Special rules apply for workers injured while working casual hours. It’s important that the rate of pay is calculated correctly at the start of a claim, as the rate of pay assigned by WorkCover is the base figure applied to all weekly wages.

The rate of pay is known as PIAWE, or pre-injury average weekly earnings. A PIAWE calculation for casual workers can be difficult to determine or check whether WorkCover has calculated it fairly. Lawyers at ADM have the expertise to ensure that WorkCover is paying you the right amount.

You must have all wage slips/payment summaries and pay rates that you can find for the 12 months before injury when calculating the correct rate that should apply. If you have worked for less than 12 months with your employer, then you need just those that cover the period of time before an injury.

Second jobs should also be included, though the number of hours they allow per week can be capped.

Shift Allowance and Overtime

These wage supplements should also be included in a PIAWE calculation, with the average of each over the 12 months previous being included in the PIAWE rate of pay.

Incorrect Calculation

WorkCover gets PIAWE calculations wrong regularly. If the rate of pay is wrong, it is very easy to appeal. Your WorkCover lawyer can assist with the appeals process.

If an occupational injury or illness results in disability, you may have a permanent impairment. What level of impairment you have directly correlates to how much compensation you are entitled to.

You will need to wait a minimum of 12 months for your injuries to stabilise before applying for a permanent impairment benefit. An Independent Impairment Assessor will examine you to determine your impairment rating, in accordance with prescribed guidelines.

Arnold Dallas McPherson Injury Lawyers are experts in advising clients as to the appropriate impairment rating, taking into account the symptoms and treatment a client has had and how the guidelines relate to them. We strongly recommend you seek advice from experts in this area when pursuing a permanent impairment claim.

If you have a ‘serious injury’, then yes, you have the right to sue. WorkCover has established the common law damages claim process for this purpose.

Where injuries are long-term and serious, you can make a claim for loss of income and pain and suffering damages. However, you must be able to prove that your injury was someone else’s fault, either your employer or someone else.

Common law damages claims through WorkCover require specialist legal advice. Arnold Dallas McPherson can advise you of your chances of making a successful claim and guide you through the process.

Sometimes the WorkCover insurer simply won’t respond to a request you or your doctor has made to them. It is very frustrating when they simply won’t get back to you. Following these easy steps will ensure any delay in responding will not be protracted:

• Make sure any request you or your doctor makes of the insurer, such as for treatment or home help, is done via fax or email.
• Keep a copy of the request and confirmation that it was received.
• Diarise for 28 days to see if there has been a response.
• If there has been no response, lodge a conciliation request.

A non-response conciliation request usually is enough to prompt the insurer to attend to the request. However, you must be able to prove that they got the request in the first place. ADM keeps detailed records on your behalf, ensuring that all communications with WorkCover are fully documented.

If you are dissatisfied with a WorkCover decision, you should speak with a workers’ compensation lawyer straight away. Arnold Dallas McPherson Injury Lawyers have extensive expertise in disputing WorkCover decisions.

The options available to you for challenging an adverse decision include:

Conciliation

Any decision made by a WorkCover insurer may be referred to conciliation. Conciliation is meant to be a process controlled by the independent conciliator which allows for discussion of the dispute. The conciliator helps you to find a way to resolve the dispute, but has only limited powers to make a binding decision.

You do not need a lawyer to go to conciliation, but you may find it helpful. You may also want to take a friend with you.

What you need to do is:

1. Within 60 days of being notified of the decision, complete a Request for Conciliation form.
2. Send the form, any medical reports supporting your claim and a short written summary of what should happen and why to the Workplace Injury Commission.
3. A date for a conciliation meeting will be set, and you will be notified.

Lawyers at ADM can help you:

• Lodge the conciliation request
• Obtain all relevant materials and file them with the Workplace Injury Commission
• Attend the conciliation conference with you

If you are not happy with a conciliation outcome, seek legal advice. You may be able to take the dispute to Court for a decision.

Can I appeal to Court?

Yes. If conciliation is unsuccessful, you may issue proceedings in the Magistrates Court or County Court.

Sometimes medical questions are referred from conciliation or Court to a Medical Panel. A Medical Panel is made up of a number of doctors who will read the documentation, examine you and make a decision on the medical question. This decision is then binding on the parties and on the Court.