Gaius Whiffin providing Q & A on 2GB discussing Personal Injury – 6 March 2021

***********************

CS – Chris Smith/GW – Gaius Whiffin /C1,2,3, etc – Callers

************************

Listen to the Podcast

Read the transcript below:

CS       I’ve got Gaius Whiffin on the line with us once again. Hi there, Gaius.

GW     G’day Chris. 

CS       Good to have you with us. Now, Katrina has emailed our Turner Freeman email inbox, she heard that there is now a personal injury commission in New South Wales, she’s got an ongoing worker’s compensation claim, will her rights be affected?

GW     No, they won’t be, the Personal Injury Commission is being set up from the 1^st of March 2021, rights won’t be affected, basically it incorporates any worker’s compensation claim, any claim for motor vehicle accidents, come under the same commission these days, so instead of there being this commission, that commission, this tribunal, that tribunal, they’re all under the same umbrella. The procedures are very similar at the moment, that there is an indication that they’ll be sort of standardised a bit into the future, but legal rights not affected.

CS       Alright, Katrina has also asked what further rights she might have?

GW     Well, Katrina, as I understand it has an accepted claim, she has been paid for her time off work and her medical costs. She has two other potential rights. First one is to see if she has a permanent impairment, so if she suffers from a permanent impairment of a certain degree, she may be entitled to a lump sum payment and if that permanent impairment is over 15%, and if there was negligence involved in how she got injured, she may have what we call a work injury damages claim for negligence.

CS       Alright, so she’s been off work for six months, with a back injury according to this email, which she needed surgery for, the insurer as you say has accepted liability and is paying her medical costs and income, so she needs some legal advice to get through this, this could be difficult right?

GW     Well, I’d say so, I mean if she’s had back surgery, yes, she should seek some legal advice because you’re likely to be entitled to that lump sum. The level of your impairment, even if there’s no negligence also determines how long you’re entitled to your weekly payments and your medical costs, so it can get tricky at that stage certainly.

CS       Okay, which brings me to a commonly asked question, how are legal costs paid in worker’s compensation claims?

GW     Well there’s a body in New South Wales called ILARS, and it will actually pay the costs of a worker’s compensation claim, so as long as they grant funding, so you have to provide them with certain information and in most cases they will provide funding, legal funding to solicitors to act for an injured person, so there are no costs payable by the injured person at all.

CS       So people shouldn’t be scared off by the likelihood of having to go to court for this?

GW     Not with serious injuries, not at all. I mean surgery, certainly not.

CS       Okay, Gaius Whiffin, thank you very much for your time, have a great weekend.

GW     You too, Chris.

Turner Freeman Lawyers is famous for getting people the compensation they deserve, search Turner Freeman Lawyers. Call 13 43 63 or email your enquiry to 2GB@turnerfreeman.com.au