Personal Injury Lawyers
Workers Compensation Claims

You may be eligible for workers compensation if you are classified as a worker, have suffered an injury or illness, and your employment was a substantial or main contributing factor to that injury or illness. To be specific:

• You must be classified as a ‘worker’
• You must have suffered an injury or illness
• You must be able to prove that your employment conditions were a substantial or main contributing factor to your injury or illness

Please note that in the event you have suffered a psychological injury as a result of your workplace, it is important that you also:

• Have a diagnosable psychiatric injury; and
• Establish that your injury was not “wholly or predominantly caused by the reasonable action of the employer”.

This means that your psychological injury was not wholly or predominantly caused due to:

• Performance appraisal;
• Disciplinary action;
• Promotion;
• Demotion;
• Retrenchment;
• Dismissal; and/or
• The provision of employment benefits

Workers compensation can cover employees and some deemed workers, depending on the nature of the working relationship and the circumstances of the engagement.

You are eligible for workers compensation in the event you are classified as a ‘worker’ under the workers compensation scheme. For the purpose of the workers compensation legislation, this refers to employees or workers that are ‘deemed employees’.

‘Deemed employees’ come in all classes of workers, including salespeople, labour hire workers, referees, entertainers. Recently, the Courts have leaned towards an assessment of the contract of engagement between the employer and employee. If there isn’t one, the court will consider a set of criteria in determining if a person is a deemed employee, with many factors coming into it, including their reliance on that specific employer, whether your employer paid your tax and superannuation, where your employer supplied your equipment and uniform and often what the “reasonable person” would think.

‘Contractors’ are workers that are not generally covered under workers compensation insurance, and are often required to obtain their own insurance for workers under them. Contractors more often than not, engage in obtaining their own work or contracts, provide quotes for work, and carry on an independent business.

The Workers Compensation scheme covers a multitude of injuries and diseases. Under the workers compensation scheme, you are covered for various physical injuries, psychological injuries, dust diseases, hearing injuries, cardiological injuries, skin injuries etc.

No matter the injury, so long as a worker can establish that their workplace was either the substantial or main contributing factor in causing their injury, the worker will be entitled to compensation.

The Workers compensation scheme also provides compensation for the dependents of a worker, in the event the worker unfortunately dies during the course of, or as a result of, their employment.

You may be entitled to a lump sum payment if your injury is assessed as meeting the required permanent impairment threshold under the NSW workers compensation scheme.

Under the Workers Compensation Scheme, a worker is eligible for a lump sum payment if they are assessed by an Approved Medicolegal Doctor as being over 11% whole person impairment (for physical injuries) or over 15% whole person impairment (for psychological injuries). If the worker is unable to reach these thresholds, they will not be entitled to a lump sum payment, however this does not mean the entitlement to weekly compensation or medical treatment expenses will end, and it will be important to speak with our Lawyers if this occurs.

Different rules apply for emergency workers, like Police, Paramedics and Fire Fighters.

There is also a further lump sum claim that may be made if you have been assessed with a 15% whole person impairment or more. In some circumstances, you may be in a position to make a claim for your economic loss. This type of claim is called a ‘work injury damages’ claim.

For eligible workers compensation claims, Stacks Goudkamp does not charge the injured worker legal fees because IRO funding may cover the legal work and necessary claim expenses.

We don’t charge you anything for workers compensation claims. We are Independent Review Office, IRO approved lawyers. IRO will pay us directly for any work that we do.

We will also fund your claim expenses, known as disbursements, so you are not out of pocket. IRO reimburses eligible expenses at the end of your workers compensation claim.

IRO funding does not apply for emergency workers, such as Police, Paramedics and Fire Fighters. Your legal costs are paid by the workers compensation insurer at the successful resolution of your claim.

For all other work injury compensation claims, we will represent you on our No Win No Fee basis.

In eligible workers compensation matters, IRO funding can cover legal costs and necessary expenses required to investigate or dispute a claim.

In relation to a worker’s compensation claim, all disbursements and legal costs are covered by the Independent Review Office (IRO). IRO is responsible for providing funding to a lawyer in order to investigate or dispute a claim on the workers’ behalf.

This means that any clinical records, reports, necessary travel expenses for assessments, medico-legal reports and legal fees will be covered by IRO.

This is an effective way of ensuring that there is no added financial pressure placed on the injured worker, whilst ensuring they are afforded legal advice.

A work injury damages claim may be available if your workplace injury was caused by employer negligence and your permanent impairment meets the required threshold.

In order for a worker to make a claim for negligence against their employer, they must meet two criteria:

1. Their injury or injuries that were sustained during the course of employment have been assessed and accepted to be 15% whole person impairment or over; and
2. The injury or injuries were sustained as a result of the negligence of the employer

Once the worker has proceeded with their lump sum compensation claim under the statutory scheme, and it is confirmed that they are 15% whole person impairment or over, they will then be able to pursue the claim through the civil system so long as there was negligence.

If you are eligible to bring a work injury damages claim, you may be able to claim past and future economic loss caused by your workplace injury.

Under the workers compensation legislation, a worker that is injured in the course of work, is only eligible for the loss of earnings (and superannuation) as a result of the workplace injury.

No. Weekly payments are not always the same as your normal wage. In NSW, weekly payments are generally calculated using your pre-injury average weekly earnings and can change depending on the stage of the claim, your work capacity and your return-to-work position.

Under the Workers Compensation Scheme, the insurer will assess your Pre-Injury Average Weekly Earnings (PIAWE) for the period 52 weeks prior to the injury (or less in the event the worker has not worked for the employer for that long). This will consider overtime and other bonuses the worker may have received up until that point.

Once the PIAWE has been calculated, the insurer will pay you the following weekly payments dependent on the period:

1. First period (13 weeks) – the worker will receive 95% of the gross PIAWE calculated each week, in the event the worker has no capacity for work.

2. Second period (14 – 130 Weeks) – the worker will receive 80% of the gross PIAWE calculated each week, in the event the worker has no capacity for work.

Please note that in the event the worker has returned to work on suitable duties and reduced hours, the worker will be entitled to up to 95% of the gross PIAWE per week, less the earnings they are receiving for work done.

Third period (131 – 260 Weeks) – the worker will receive 80% of the gross PIAWE calculated each week.

Weekly payments beyond 260 weeks are only available if the worker is assessed with a 21% whole person impairment or more.

Different rules apply for emergency workers, like Police, Paramedics and Fire Fighters.

You may still have a workers compensation claim even if you are not sure who was legally at fault. In NSW workers compensation claims, the key issue is usually whether you are a worker, whether you suffered an injury or illness, and whether your work was a substantial or main contributing factor. If employer negligence is involved, a separate work injury damages claim may also need to be considered.

You do not need every document before contacting a workers compensation lawyer. Helpful information may include your injury date, employer details, incident reports, medical certificates, insurer letters, claim numbers, payslips, treatment records, return-to-work plans and any correspondence disputing liability, treatment or weekly payments.

Yes, you may still be able to pursue a workers compensation claim if your employer or insurer disputes that work caused your injury. A workers compensation lawyer can review the decision, gather medical evidence, assess the work connection and advise whether the dispute can be challenged.

Look for a workers compensation lawyer with experience in NSW workplace injury claims, IRO-funded matters, insurer disputes, permanent impairment claims and work injury damages. You should also ask who will manage your claim, how costs are handled, how evidence will be gathered and how often you will be updated.

The length of a workers compensation claim depends on the injury, the medical evidence, insurer decisions, disputes, impairment assessments and whether a work injury damages claim is involved. Some issues can be resolved quickly, while more complex claims involving disputed liability, permanent impairment or negligence may take longer.