Workplace injuries can leave you unable to work, sometimes permanently, leaving you without a source of income and mounting medical bills. Claiming compensation can help cover these costs and ensure you are compensated for your injury. The best way to claim compensation is to use an experienced workplace injury lawyer, who will guide you through the process and ensure you get the help you need. We have outlined how you can do this in today’s brief guide.
Claiming compensation for a workplace injury
When claiming compensation for a workplace injury, you must follow the correct steps to increase your chances of a successful payout. These involve seeking medical help and reporting your injury to your employer as soon as possible to avoid complications during your claim. We have detailed the steps you need to follow below as soon as you become injured at work:
Seek medical help
After sustaining an injury at work, the first thing you need to do is seek medical help. Your health is the priority, and you must be checked over and have any injuries addressed. You might need to call an ambulance, make an immediate appointment with your GP or visit a hospital. When seeking medical help for your injury, ask the medical professionals caring for you for any written reports or proof of the injury. This includes scans, medical notes, or documentation of any surgery you might have had. These will help to build your case. If you cannot ask for them at the time, you can do so later.
Tell your employer
You need to inform your employer about the accident as soon as it happens. This can be a supervisor or manager, but they will need to be told so that they can make a document of it in their accident books. Your employer also has a duty of care to you and should help to arrange medical treatment (like calling an ambulance) to ensure your well-being.
Document the incident
You will want a written account of the incident as soon as you can. The sooner you do this, the better, as the events will be fresh in your memory and you are less likely to leave any details out. You should also take pictures of where the incident occurred and any visible injuries you have sustained. Make sure these pictures are clear, as these will help your case.
Find witnesses
Did anyone witness the incident? If they did, take note of who did and ask if they are willing to be a witness. Their version of events can help a compensation claim and ensure you get the money you deserve. You can also ask your employer for any CCTV footage showing the incident. Your lawyer can review this to see if it is clear and can be used as proof that the accident was caused by negligence from your employer.
Lodge your claim
You can make a WorkCover claim and submit the form to your employer. This is where you include all the information about your injury for them to review. Your employer will forward this form to their insurance company to process your claim. You can submit the form to their insurance company if this is not sent within the appropriate time frame.
If you are unhappy with the outcome or feel your claim warrants a common law claim, you can instruct a lawyer to help you. These claims are taken directly to your employer and typically fought between lawyers as a negotiation before being taken to court.
Seek legal advice
We recommend seeking legal advice with a work injury lawyer as soon as possible. They can assess your claim to determine if it should be submitted through WorkCover or taken as a common law claim (typically when another party or your employer was negligent). Working with a lawyer provides you with expert advice and support, ensuring that you have completed the forms correctly and are getting the compensation you deserve.
Find your work injury lawyer today
Claiming compensation for a workplace injury is typically done through WorkCover unless your claim warrants a common law compensation claim. In both of these cases, we recommend working with an injury lawyer who can help you get the compensation you deserve. Lawyers like Smit’s Lawyers can help. Using their years of experience to help you get the outcome you deserve. Their workers’ compensation lawyers can help claim compensation for a workplace injury, offering guidance and support throughout your experience.
