Did you know, you do not need your employer’s support to lodge a WorkCover application?
An employee injured in the course of their employment in Queensland is entitled to worker’s compensation benefits. This includes both the payment of wages whilst you are not at work, and reasonable and necessary medical expenses relating to the injury.
To lodge a claim, you simply need to attend your doctor to obtain a worker’s capacity medical certificate, in the approved form, and provide this to WorkCover with your version of events of how you sustained your injury. Your doctor can even lodge the application to WorkCover on your behalf. Otherwise, you can make the application on the phone, or on the internet by searching for WorkCover Queensland and lodging a claim.
WorkCover will then assess your claim to determine whether to accept it or decline it. Usually, the insurer will reach out to your employer to confirm the accident happened at work, as well as how it happened. In some circumstances, employers may not be supportive of employees making an application. This can be either because they were not aware that their employee sustained an injury in the workplace, or simply because they just don’t want their employees making claims.
What should you do in these circumstances?
It is important to provide WorkCover with as much evidence as you can to support how your accident or injury occurred. This may include witness statements, an incident report or even CCTV footage if you have access to it. If you are uncertain about what can be used to corroborate your version of events, you should contact Turner Freeman Lawyers to obtain some free advice about how to get your claim accepted. The WorkCover system can be difficult to navigate, but our friendly staff are happy to help give your application the best possible chance of being accepted the first time around.
Either way, you should never feel bad about making a WorkCover application if you have been injured in your workplace. At the end of the day, that is why employers have WorkCover insurance policies – for the unexpected situations which life can throw at you and you find yourself with an unexpected injury!
Importantly, an application should be lodged as quickly as possible as the initial application must be made within six months from first consulting a doctor about your condition.
Further, we recommend you seek legal advice to ensure that you obtain everything you are entitled to, including protecting any common law rights you may have. This needs to occur quickly to avoid missing critical time limitations which can void your right to claim damages altogether. Contact Turner Freeman Lawyers today on 13 43 63.
