What Qualifies as a Work Related Injury?
There are several different types of workplace injuries and illnesses that can be the basis of a workers’ compensation claim. They include physical and mental injuries, diseases, aggravated injuries, and ongoing symptoms. Here is a closer look at each of these types of injuries.
Physical Injuries
A physical injury is one that causes damage of any kind to the human body from an external force. There are a variety of these types of injuries as they can be measured to be at different levels of seriousness. Physical injuries include burns, abrasions, cuts, lacerations, broken bones, fractures, and penetrating wounds.
Mental Injuries
Mental injuries have various names including psychiatric or psychological injuries. These are conditions that result in various mental conditions including abnormal behaviours, feelings, and thoughts. Examples of mental injuries include anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Diseases
A disease is an abnormal medical condition such as an infection, inflammation, or some other factor that affects either part of the human body or all of it. This may include work-related respiratory diseases, industrial deafness, or Q-fever (where your job involves working with animals) as examples.
Aggravated Injury
Some workers are on the job who have recovered from a pre-existing condition. That condition may or may not have been caused while on the job. However, if doing something at work either makes that pre-existing condition worse or increases its seriousness, it is considered an aggravated injury.
Ongoing Symptoms
There are times when symptoms may continue from an injury after the claim has closed and you have returned to work. This is what is termed as ongoing symptoms. If your symptoms can be confirmed as coming from the original work-related injury, your compensation claim may be reopened. To qualify for this, you must contact WorkCover and file the appropriate documents to verify what you are experiencing and provide information from a medical professional following an assessment.
The Difference Between Fault and No-Fault Compensation
The difference between a fault and a no-fault claim is fairly basic. WorkCover has entitlements that are classified as no fault. This means you are not required to prove who was at fault for your workplace injury to file a claim. Fault-based claims need proof of fault on behalf of a third party to activate the process. Fault-based claims are also known as common law claims. Typically, all you need to do when filing a compensation claim is to prove that the accident or issue that led to the injury occurred at the workplace or is related to your job. It is not necessary to prove who was at fault for the workplace injury to get your claim accepted by WorkCover.
The Seriousness Of The Injury Does Not Matter
On another note, the severity of the injury has no bearing on whether or not it will qualify as a work-related injury. In other words, for a workplace injury claim to be accepted, the injury must have occurred either on the job or is related to your job. The seriousness of the injury does not influence that decision as the definition of a workplace injury is an injury, of any kind, that occurs in connection to the workplace.
For More On Work-Related Injury Compensation, Contact GKS Law
GKS Law are your personal injury lawyers in Brisbane. Call them today if you believe your workplace injury may be worth a claim for workplace compensation. Find out why GKS Law are the best personal injury lawyers in Brisbane. Contact them today.
In Conclusion
Several different types of injuries can occur either on the job or related to work. Many of them can lead to workers’ compensation claims. However, you must follow a process to get the claim underway, which includes filing paperwork with WorkCover. Once your claim has been accepted, you can continue with the process. To ensure you have enough proof to verify the injury is work-related, seek the guidance of a legal professional with experience in personal injury law. Also, the severity of the injury has no bearing on whether the claim will be accepted or rejected. You just need to prove the injury is work-related. Otherwise, the process is far from complicated, and compensation packages are awarded to those with proper supporting documents. To improve the success of your claim, seek the assistance of a legal professional.