Archives for March 2015

Fighting to get an injury claim settlement along with all your entitlements

fall workplace accidentSometimes when we suffer an injury we can be more vulnerable than normal. The last thing we feel like doing is reporting the incident, filling out claim paperwork and making phone calls explaining how the injury occurred and why we should receive compensation. One important thing to remember is that you don’t have to go it alone and feel the stress on top of the pain and discomfort of your injury. Dealing with the aftermath of an accident or injury can be quite overwhelming.

To make things a bit easier, you or a relative can call an independent helpline who will provide free information, send out forms and arrange free legal advice if required. Call 1800 006 766 for free support today. One call may help you in many ways and you can get all your questions answered.

It is really important to write down everything you can remember about the events leading up to your injury. If there has been negligence from any party then that negligence must be clearly proven in order to receive injury compensation under common law.

It’s all too easy to forget things and so keeping all the details written down early on as over time it can be easy to forget. Gathering as much as you can like photos, statements and other written information will help support your claim.

It is not your job to prove negligence as that is the job of a lawyer. However, if you can gather as much information as you can to support your claim this will help you a great deal and will help the lawyer too.

Never assume an accident is your fault or partly your fault you might be completely wrong. Sometimes there are things occurring behind the scenes that you do not know about like a previous similar incident caused by the same reasons. It is the job of an employer to make sure injuries are prevented wherever possible. If your injury could have been prevented in any way, someone was likely to be negligent.

Negligence is an area of the law that is very complex and a lawyer will ask all the right questions to find out if your injury could have been prevented in any way. If an injury was preventable then you may be entitled to a common law injury compensation claim. This is a separate claim oufall workplace accidenttside of statutory work compensation entitlements and may be worth much more to you. Strict time limits do apply so contacting a work compensation helpline sooner rather than later is recommended.

Get the advice you need today call 1800 006 766 for free advice today.

Who can claim work compensation and how the workers comp process works

Work Compensation injuriesIf you have been involved in an accident at work, or have suffered a work related injury and are unsure what to do, your employer or colleague will have a procedures manual they can refer to and will know the correct procedures to follow. Paperwork will need to be completed and this needs to be sent to the work compensation insurance company I.e. Work Cover. When the work compensation insurer receives these forms your claim will be filed and you will be assigned a worker’s compensation case officer whose aim is to get you back to work and assist you with rehabilitation as much as possible.

You may be off work for a period of time and during this find entitled to work compensation benefits. The benefits might include wages paid, medical expenses paid or any other out of pocket expenses that are related to the injury.

When your injury has stabilised the work compensation case officer will arrange a medical examination to get the all clear to return to work. With injuries that are serious and permanent some people may not be ever be fully rehabilitated and may have to live with their permanent injury for good. If this is you we advise you to contact our helpline on 1800 006 766.

At this point the workers comp insurer will want to get you off their books and you may be offered a lump sum payment for your permanent injury. At this point it is really import at to seek a second opinion from a helpline or workers comp lawyer who can advise you to either accept the lump sum offered; or reject it and proceed to common law. A common law claim may be worth much more to you as it considers future economic losses as well as past and present losses. For example if you cannot return to work you will have lose a future income and this needs to be taken into account.

If your injury could’ve been prevented somehow then someone may have been negligent and you may be entitled to claim work compensation under common law if your injury is permanent and as a result of this negligence. All circumstances surrounding the cause of your injury must be reviewed for a work compensation lawyer to determine who is negligent.

Seek advice early on and don’t leave anything to chance. Be in the know, find out where you stand and what you options are and you can make informed decisions that may affect you and your family for the rest of your life. Call 1800 006 766 or click here to contact us today.