Workers’ Comp In Western Australia: What You Need to Know

Workers’ Compensation and the injury management scheme is designed to help workers who have been injured or become ill because of their job. The scheme provides financial assistance to help cover lost wages, medical expenses, and other associated costs. The scheme also outlines returning to work objectives and provides information on how to resolve disputes. There are also resources and support available to workers under the scheme. If you need to learn more about this, then we’ve got just the thing for you. Here’s everything that you need to know about Workers’ Compensation. 

What you should do?

If you have been injured at work, you need to tell your employer as soon as possible. You also need to see a doctor and get a First Medical Certificate, which will list all of your injuries. It’s important to have all of your injuries on this certificate, because it may be difficult to get compensation for injuries that aren’t listed.

An injured employee is free to choose their own treating doctor, physiotherapist, or specialist under the Workers’ Compensation scheme. While an employer or insurer may require an employee to attend independent medical examinations, the employee’s own medical practitioners remain entirely at their discretion.

You would have already filled out a Workers’ Compensation claim form and submitted it to your employer, along with the first medical certificate. The employer has five days to respond to the employee’s claim.

What Compensation Will You Receive?

Workers’ Compensation will cover the cost of your injury and any medical expenses associated with it. For the first thirteen weeks, you will receive your normal salary, including overtime, and then it will be reduced to a lower amount without overtime or bonuses. If you choose to pursue a common law claim, you will not receive any salary. Common law claims are for more serious injuries or multiple injuries where you are unable to work. These claims are settled for much higher amounts since you cannot return to work. 

The Workers’ Compensation scheme is designed to cover various types of expenses related to an injury sustained at work. This includes medical expenses for things like seeing a general practitioner, specialist, or various types of rehabilitation services. There may also be allowances for travel and accommodation expenses if you need to travel for medical treatment. Additionally, Workers’ Compensation can cover workplace rehabilitation expenses. This is when a workplace rehabilitation provider helps you return to work by identifying suitable duties or alternative placements in a different work environment. Sometimes you may even need to be retrained for a new occupation.

Conclusion

We hope this article proves to be useful when it comes to helping you gain a better understanding of how the Workers’ Compensation system works. While it may seem complicated at first, the information that we’ve laid out above should help you understand the process.

Do you need a Workers’ Compensation lawyer in Perth? As a well-established firm, we value the relationship with our clients and have ensured that our team consists of like-minded individuals who value the client relationship and recognise their needs are paramount and not transactional. Today our team culture ensures that we strive to help clients resolve their legal problems. Contact us today. Start the conversation!