If you have had an injury at work you need to start the workers compensation process by completing a Workers Compensation Claim form. Your employer will be able to give you the form, or, you can download a free copy of the form from the WorkCover WA website. Once you have completed the claim form you need to hand that to your employer together with a First Certificate of Capacity from your doctor.
Your employer then has 5 working days to give those forms to its workers compensation insurance company.
Once the insurance company gets the forms they have 14 days to tell you whether they accept your claim, they deny your claim, or whether they need more time to get more information before they can make a decision.
But disputes about claims happen all the time. Some of the common disputes that workers compensation lawyers in Perth see are:
- An employer rejects your workers compensation claim. For example, they may say that your injury has nothing to do with your employment;
- An insurance company says that your stress claim is not related to your work. For example, if you are bullied at work the insurance company may say that your stress was caused by performance management issues;
- An insurance company takes a long time and doesn’t get back to you about a decision;
- An insurance company wants to cut off your workers compensation payments; or
- An insurance company won’t pay for surgery or physiotherapy or other treatment that you need.
When there is a dispute between you and the workers compensation insurance company the place where those disputes are resolved is WorkCover. WorkCover is a statutory body created under the Workers compensation legislation and has been given the power to resolve all workers compensation claim disputes. To solve disputes WorkCover WA offers 2 main types of service:
- The Conciliation service; and
- The Arbitration service.
If you want to raise a dispute with your employer about a workers compensation claim in Perth, then you need to frame your dispute so that you prove:
- That you were employed by the employer;
- That your injury happened at work or because of your work duties;
- The background to the accident;
- Your injuries;
- That your injuries have caused the need for treatment; and
- That your injuries have caused lost time from work.
In making applications to WorkCover you will also need to use the prescribed forms. In addition to the forms you will need to attach all of your evidence that proves the elements described in this blog. For that reason, and to give your dispute the best chance of success at WorkCover, it is strongly recommended that you chat to a personal injury lawyer in Perth who has experience in workers compensation claims. At Lian Hall Injury Law we are happy to have a chat over the phone if you want to ask questions before making a decision on what to do.
