Injured Workers Be Aware

Injured at work in Western Australia? No worries, it’s a no-fault system, and my workers compensation will sort it self out. Right? No. According to Foyle Legal, one of the top workers compensation lawyers in Perth, there many ways that your workers compensation claim may go wrong badly if it is not done and managed properly. Here are the top mistakes injured workers make and often result in rejected workers compensation claim, or having their workers compensation amount reduced:

1. Fail to report the workplace accident immediately

In the no-fault workers compensation system, one the most important aspects to establish if you have a claim is to prove that the accident indeed happened during your employment. If you don’t report the workplace accident immediately, you may open an opportunity for the employer or employer’s insurer to dispute your claim on the basis that the accident was not work related.

Please note – In many workplaces in Western Australia, it is required by the employer to report any workplace accident immediately. This is often set out in the employee manual in the workplace.

2. Fail to report all your injuries

Many people don’t want to be seen as the whinger at work. Many injured people don’t mention the full extent of their injuries in the workplace accident report, and to doctors. It’s only a sore back, it should be ok, right? Not always. Many symptoms are progressive. If you don’t report it early on, you may not be able to claim the injury when the symptoms progress to the next level.

Remember – report all ofyour injuries. You are not whinging, you are merely recording the facts which will benefit you in the later stages of your claim.

3. Fail to attend the medical legal appointments

The medical appointments which have been arranged for injured workers for the purpose of your workers compensation claim is a type of medical-legal appointment. They are important! This is because the findings from the medical legal appointment may have direct impact on your compensation payout. You should and need to attend to the medical legal appointments, even if the medical-legal doctor is located far away from your home. If you don’t attend the medical legal appointment, then your workers compensation payments may be suspended and the insurer will have an excuse to argue that you are fully recovered and thus no further need for medical expense payments. Furthermore, because you are fully recovered, you may receive less compensation for future losses.

Remember – go to the appointments, and report all your injuries.

4. Not following your lawyer’s advice

Dealing with a worker’s compensation claim can be stressful. Therefore, you need to follow your lawyers’ advice or if you disagree, ask more questions and attempt to reach agreement. Many injured workers feel that they are treated less favourably by the employer and workmates as a result of a workplace injury. When emotions are running, they may do things and say things that would have negative impact on their workers compensation claim. If you are working with a workers compensation lawyer for your workers comp claim, be sure to follow their advice.

The other common mistake of not following lawyers’ advice is to inappropriate use of social media. Please check out the article about social media usage and personal injury claim on foylelegal.com website.

Remember –be smart about your emotions and it makes sense to follow legal advice.

5. Fail to be open and transparent with your lawyer

Remember you lawyer is on your side. You need to be open and transparent about your injury with your lawyer. For example, when you are working elsewhere when receiving payment for workers compensation weekly payments from your previous employer, you should tell your lawyer about it. If not, when this come out at the settlement conference, it will leave you in a very disadvantaged position.

If you have a worker’s compensation claim, please be sure to seek legal advice, and some good lawyers can be very affordable.

Exit mobile version