Work Accident Injury Lawyer

Workers compensation is a specific kind of insurance designed to support and protect employees if you become sick or injured at work or as a result of your employment. So, workers compensation may cover you if you have an accident at work and become injured, or if you develop some kind of illness as a result of your work (like if you develop silicosis as a result of working with silica). 

Workers compensation covers you in the case that you’re not fit to work and will seek to cover your medical expenses and rehabilitation costs.

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There are a few different criteria for claiming workers compensation. Here are a few of the key boxes that need to be ticked.

Injury or illness at work

Your injury or illness must have occurred in the course of your employment or as a direct result of your job duties. This can include injuries from accidents, such as slips and falls, as well as occupational illnesses resulting from exposure to hazardous substances or conditions over time. 

Employment status

You must be an employee of the company or organisation where you got the injury or illness. Because of this, independent contractors, freelancers, and volunteers may not be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.

Timely reporting

It’s essential to report the injury or illness to your employer ASAP. In Queensland, we have specific deadlines for reporting workplace injuries, and failure to do so within the required timeframe could affect your eligibility for benefits.

Caused by work

It’s essential you can establish a clear link between your injury or illness and your job. If there’s uncertainty about whether the injury was work-related, it’s advisable to consult with a workers compensation lawyer.

Your employer is covered

Your employer must carry workers’ compensation insurance or be legally required to do so. In some cases, smaller businesses or specific industries may be exempt from workers compensation requirements.

Medical documentation

In most cases, it will be really important that you have medical documentation to substantiate your claim. This might be medical records, diagnoses, treatment plans, or other supporting medical evidence. 

*Workers compensation runs on a ‘no-fault’ system.

There are many workers compensation claim types and injuries associated with these claims. Here are some of the most common types.

The key items you can claim for as part of your workers compensation claim are loss of income, medical expenses, and the assistance required as part of your illness or injury. 

More specifically:

• Medical expenses, including GP, hospital, or therapy fees and prescription medicine costs.
• Lost income — past and future
• Lost Superannuation benefits — past and future
• General damages, like pain and suffering
• Other expenses related to your injury, like specialist pillows

You have three years from the time you are injured to lodge your WorkCover claim. For common law damages, you must submit a Notice of Claim within three years of your injury date. While both claim types allow you three years, for the strongest case and evidence, we recommend seeking legal advice as soon as you can.

The process of your workers compensation claim is going to look a little bit different for everyone. Getting started with vbr Lawyers is easy, though.

Talk with a lawyer

Get started with a chat with vbr Lawyers. Our workers compensation lawyers will spend around 30 minutes (or longer if needed) with you to find out about your claim and what steps you’ve taken so far.

Get a letter of advice

Your lawyer will send you a letter of advice within a few days. The letter will detail our list of recommendations for your claim. We aim to make these as simple to understand as possible. If you haven’t already, we always recommend seeking medical advice ASAP. 

Start the process

We’ll kick off the claim process as soon as you’re happy to get started. This can look different from case to case, but we’ll start by lodging any necessary paperwork and notifying any relevant insurers.

We pride ourselves on taking a different approach to your workers compensation claim.