Am I Elegible for Workers Compensation?

Before you file your claim for work injury compensation you need to ensure that you are in fact eligible to receive Workers Compensation benefits. Contrary to popular belief, not all employees are eligible for Workers Compensation and finding this out too late can cause you to rack up enormous bills and further exacerbate your already difficult situation.

What kind of injury qualifies as a work compensation injury?

• Repetitive strain injuries
• Slip and falls
• Faulty machinery and equipment
• Exposure to toxic materials and substances
• Psychological and emotional stress

 All of these types of injuries can fall under Work Compensation injuries and you may be eligible to receive work compensation for them, depending on:

Are you an employee? - In order to qualify for work compensation you normally must be an employee and not a contractor or sub-contractor. If you do not fall under the category of an ‘employee’ but have incurred a workplace injury you may be able to seek assistance via other insurance and should take legal advice. Either way you need to immediately inform the employer of your accident anyway and seek whatever assistance is available to you.

Who was negligent? - Workers Compensation insurance is not a fault based scheme. Therefore, ‘as a rule’ the circumstances surrounding the injury and responsibility are not relevant to your entitlement to receive Workers Compensation entitlements.

File your claim within the allotted period of time! - Filing an insurance claim in Australia should be done as soon as possible. Failure to file your claim within the appropriate period can often result in your claim being denied; therefore you should inform your employer and also the insurer as soon as possible.

Your injury occurred at work - The law in this respect is different State to State and therefore need to be checked taking into account your individual circumstances. Certainly you can receive work compensation if your injury happened ‘on the job’. If your injury took place outside the workplace, in some States you are still covered travelling to and from work but in others your employer is not responsible under the terms of workers compensation

Sought medical care - In order to receive work compensation you will be required to visit a doctor so that your injuries can be treated and diagnosed. If you do not visit the doctor and follow their directives your claim can be denied and even worse, your recovery will be impeded.

You were not breaking the law or company rules when the accident occurred - If you were under the influence of drugs, drinking on the job, or breaking any other company regulations or Government laws your claim may be denied.