For many workers, the idea of making a WorkCover claim makes their stomach churn with anxiety. This often leads to a culture, particularly among trades, of sucking up an injury and not doing anything unless (or until) things get visibly worse.
However, an important question workers should ask themselves is, even if they think an injury is minor, what happens if they don’t lodge a claim immediately? Here are some important things for Queensland workers to consider when claiming under the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (“WCRA”).
Deadline for making a WorkCover claim
An application for things such as weekly benefits and funding for treatment must be made “within 6 months after the entitlement to compensation for the injury arises.” Under the WCRA, entitlement arises on the day the injury is assessed by a doctor, a nurse practitioner or a dentist, depending on the type of injury. In other words, if a workplace injury is made known to any of these professionals, the clock starts ticking.
If coming close to the deadline, workers are encouraged to make sure that doctors submit their medical certificates to WorkCover on time or otherwise make sure they submit their applications themselves.
While it is possible to have the 6-month deadline waived by WorkCover, this is often a difficult task. Workers are strongly encouraged to seek further legal advice if they are seeking a waiver of the deadline. There are also consequences for lodging a claim more than 20 days after an initial medical consultation, which the writer may cover in a separate blog.
Is my injury really that bad?
The cause of an injury is harder to prove the longer you leave it untreated and injuries can be more sinister than they initially appear.
For example, a worker might complain to their doctor of hurting their back at work and do nothing about it only for their symptoms to get worse and find out a year later that they have a hernia. If they then claim, WorkCover may question whether the workplace incident from a year ago actually caused the hernia and may even go so far as to interview the treating doctor. If WorkCover is not convinced the injury happened at work, the claim would be denied. Even if WorkCover was satisfied the injury is still work related, the claim would still be denied for being lodged more than 6-months after initially complaining to the doctor.
This puts the unfortunate worker in a position where they have to find financial support and benefits elsewhere or cover everything out of their own pocket. If surgery must be funded through Medicare, this could mean waiting months or even over a year, depending on the injury.
Is a delay really worth it?
Treatment in the workplace is not always fair. In the writer’s view, it is highly unconscionable for an employer to discourage workers from making claims, yet the culture persists. Even if an employer is being difficult, the writer believes it is better to lodge a claim early rather than adopt a wait and see approach. If an injury is truly minor, the claim will be short and give little reason for an employer to be upset (if there ever was a good reason). If the injury turns out to be serious, the worker can rest easy knowing that they claimed in time.
As far as the writer is concerned, better to be safe than sorry.
