Occupations of various kinds come with their own hazards and safety risks. The environment that a particular job offers may have elements conducive to injury over time or pose a high risk. If you’ve sustained injuries from your work, you might be eligible for worker’s compensation that covers your treatment and recovery costs.
This article is an overview of the scope of workers’ compensation claims and how to make a personal injury claim in Australia and the types of injuries it covers.
Under Australian law, a worker’s compensation claim is compulsory health insurance a company provides for its employees. This insurance specifically targets injuries, ailments, and or occupational health issues sustained by employees from their work environment or as a result of their work environment. This insurance covers your treatment plan and rehabilitation period or time taken off of work to make a full recovery.
A workers’ compensation covers injuries or ailments that can occur to employees within the scope of the job’s duties. Some jobs are riskier than others, for example, industrial work, physical labour, or skilled trade. However, seemingly hazardless jobs like office work or teaching can also have health risks.
For example, chronic back pain from desk jobs, voice-box injuries from teaching, or jobs that require continuous voice usage. Injuries and ailments are not just limited to physical trauma. Certain insurances and schemes also treat psychological trauma and mental health problems with the same gravity as physical ailments.
Under a workers’s compensation, the following interventions occur:
Workers’ compensation covers injuries falling within the domain of the job’s duties and descriptions. These can be categorized into:
Since it can be difficult to prove if a disease has been contracted at work, most Australian workers’ compensation schemes maintain a tentative list of possible diseases that can be contracted in respective working environments. However, workers’ compensation is not necessarily limited to these diseases.
Some common ailments and injuries falling under this category are:
Any minor vs major injuries sustained due to job duties that leave the employee disabled or permanently injured with no scope for further health optimization falls under permanent impairment. These include injuries to the spinal cord, loss of function in any body part, and so on.
Psychological injuries are of major concern for workplaces because they require more time off and are often more complex than physical injuries. As a result, maintaining low stress levels at work and fostering healthy working relationships and culture are key interventions. Employees who sustain psychological trauma from their working environment are also entitled to compensation and benefits.
Some of the most common cases include issues like:
These categories are necessary to reduce the chances of compensation claims being contented or denied by companies.
Not all injuries and ailments that affect employees fall under the coverage of workers’ compensation. These include illnesses and injuries caused by actions or situations outside the job’s purview. These include instances like:
In such cases, your lawyer may advise you to take a civil suit against the individual who injured you.
If you’ve sustained injuries at work, access to timely healthcare is a top priority. However, when your health is compromised, it can be difficult to navigate and claim your workers’ compensation to assist your treatment and recovery.
Contact our team of Perth Personal Injury Lawyers to help make your claim. Alternatively, in case of work-related injuries outside the coverage of workers’ compensation, contact our best civil lawyer Perth, to pursue a civil case.