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Work & Personal Injury Law.
Suffering from a work place or personal injury can be an overwhelming experience and can alter your ability to earn an income and carry on with your day-to-day life. Under these circumstances, a work and personal injury lawyer is essential for you during this time. At Mahony’s Lawyers, we help you to understand your rights and what compensation you are entitled to.
We can help you with:
Workplace Injury.
Sustaining a workplace injury can be a life changing event.
It is important to document your injury as soon as you can.
You may not appreciate the significance of your symptoms at first and like most people, hope that they will go away.
However, if you don’t tell your doctor and record your symptoms early it can create difficulty when seeking to claim compensation at a later date.
On 1 st July 2015, new laws were implemented for entitlements to compensation for injured workers.
If you sustained an injury prior to 1 July 2015, please seek legal advice about how these laws may affect you.
Important questions to ask your lawyer include:
- Has my weekly income payment been calculated correctly?
- Does my employer have to provide employment for me?
- Do I get compensated for lost earnings?
- Am I entitled to a lump sum compensation for permanent impairment?
Motor Vehicle Accident.
If you have been involved in a car, motorbike or bicycle accident, or injured as a pedestrian, you may be entitled to compensation.
It is important you seek legal advice immediately to ensure you meet the claim timeframes.
The law stipulates you have six months to lodge a claim from the date of your injury.
Often, people in a motor vehicle accident will be in shock and it will take time to realise the extent of their injuries.
It is very important to have these injuries documented as soon as possible or risk missing out on proper compensation.
No Win No Fee.
If you approach your insurance company directly for a personal injury or motor vehicle accident matter, you will most likely receive a minimal settlement.
We recommend that you obtain the right legal representation so that you are fully compensated for your injury.
You may be entitled to medical expenses and loss of income, as well as compensation for your injury.
Mahony’s Lawyers works on a No Win, No Fee basis. This means that you are able to receive expert legal advice regardless of your financial situation.
We will review your circumstances, your injury and how it will affect your future earning capacity, medical expenses, assistance with home duties, travel expenses and costs associated with renovating your property to allow for changes in your living arrangements.
Our aim is to ensure you receive everything you are entitled to.
Book a free* first consultation today to talk to our friendly expert team about your legal needs.
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* Conditions Apply
Frequently Asked Questions.
What if I need treatment when my work injury expenses come to an end?
As an injured worker, you are entitled to income maintenance (weekly payments) for two years from the date of your first entitlement. Your income maintenance can be reduced or discontinued for various reasons during the two years, such as if you cease to be incapacitated for work or if you fully return to work.
If you have been receiving weekly payments for your work injury under the Return to Work Act, your entitlement to payment of medical expenses ceases 12 months after your weekly payments. However, if you and your doctor think that you will need surgery after the period, you are entitled to medical expenses and you can make an Application for pre-approval of future surgery.
If you are a “seriously injured worker”, meaning that you have been assessed as having at least a 30% (or more) Whole Personal Impairment, you will be entitled to weekly payments at 80% of your average weekly earnings until retirement age and reasonable medical expenses for life. Another exception to the time restriction imposed upon medical expenses is if you need a therapeutic appliance to maintain your capacity.
I injured myself at work - can I sue my boss?
Most Employers pay premiums to Return to Work SA which means that they are insured against Workers Compensation claims. This means that if you make a claim, your Employer is able to support you in the event of a work injury. Lodging a Workers Compensation claim does not mean that you are suing your Employer.
Generally speaking, the Return to Work Act prevents you from suing your Employer if you are entitled to benefits under the Act. An exception to this is if you have been declared as being seriously injured (having a 30% Whole Person Impairment). If you have been declared as being a seriously injured worker, you are entitled to pursue a common law action against your Employer for economic loss. Should you decide you want to do pursue an action against your Employer, this would mean that you would not have any further entitlements to weekly payments or redemptions.
What is permanent impairment and what does it mean?
If you have any work injury which results in the loss, loss of use, damage or malfunction of a part of your body this could be considered a “permanent impairment”. Once your work injury has stabilised (reached maximum medical improvement) and all medical treatment has been completed, an impairment assessment can be undertaken by an Accredited Impairment Assessor. After you have been assessed by an Accredited Impairment Assessor, you will be advised of the degree of Whole Person Impairment (WPI) you suffer. This degree of WPI is assessed in accordance with Assessment Guidelines and determines if you have any further entitlements aside from income maintenance and medical expenses. If you are assessed as having the equivalent to 5% WPI or more, you may be entitled to a lump sum payment under the Return to Work Act. Contact us if you think you may suffer from a permanent impairment and are seeking to undergo a permanent impairment assessment.
I will never get back to work - will I be compensated for my loss of income?
The Return to Work Act focuses on assistance for workers to recover and return to work; however, if you are unable to return to work you may have the following options:
- If you are an injured worker and have been assessed by an Accredited Impairment Assessor as suffering from a Whole Person Impairment between 5% - 29%, you may be entitled to a lump sum payment for economic and non-economic loss. Your entitlement to this lump sum payment would take into consideration the level of your permanent impairment, your age and the hours worked at the time of your injury. You would also be entitled to income maintenance (weekly payments) for two years from the date of your first entitlement.
- There may also be the option of considering a redemption (or payout) which, if agreed to, would mean that you are not entitled to any further income support.
- If you are determined as having a Whole Person Impairment of at least 30% you would be entitled to income maintenance and medical expenses until the age of retirement.
Contact us today to find out what kind of compensation you might be entitled to.
What if I injured myself before the Return to Work Act - am I affected?
Most Workers Compensation claims should be lodged within six months of your work injury arising. However, in certain circumstances, you may be able to make a claim after this period.
For example:
- If you injured yourself prior to the Return to Work Act coming into effect (1 July 2015) and did not make a WorkCover Claim, your entitlements may be affected by the transitional arrangements.
- If you were injured prior to the Act coming into effect and made a claim, you are entitled to income support until 1 July 2017 (two years after the Act came into effect). This period of time includes payment of your [reasonable] medical expenses and for a further 12 months after your income maintenance has ceased.
- If you were injured prior to 1 July 2015 and determined as having a Whole Person Impairment of at least 30% you would be entitled to income maintenance until the age of retirement and reasonable medical expenses for life.
Contact us today to find out what kind of compensation you might be entitled to.
I think I am a seriously injured worker - what can I do?
To be deemed a seriously injured worker, you need to have been assessed by an Accredited Impairment Assessor as suffering from a permanent Whole Person Impairment of at least 30%. It is quite difficult for a worker to be assessed as having a Whole Person Impairment of at least 30% unless they have a significant injury or multiple serious injuries from the same calendar year. Physical and psychological injuries are not able to be combined to meet the 30% threshold. Contact us if you have not yet been assessed by an Accredited Impairment Assessor but believe you are suffering from a significant and permanent impairment.
If deemed a seriously injured worker, under the Return to Work Act you would be entitled to ongoing weekly payments of 80% of your average weekly earnings until retirement age or until the age of 65 and reasonable medical expenses for life. This system also allows a worker to accept a redemption (or payout) to finalise your entitlement to income support. You may also be entitled to a lump sum payment for non-economic loss (but not economic loss) with the amount payable being determined according to the degree of permanent impairment you are suffering.
If you are a seriously injured worker, you may decide that you want to make a common law claim against your Employer. Should you decide you want to pursue an action against your Employer this would mean that you would not have any further entitlements to weekly payments or redemptions.
Are there time limits involved in lodging and injury claim from a motor vehicle accident?
Yes, there are time limits involved when lodging an injury claim. If you have been involved in a motor vehicle or bicycle accident, or if you have been injured as a pedestrian, you may be entitled to compensation.
Keep in mind the following time limits that apply to claims of this nature:
- The law stipulates that you have six months from the date of your injury to lodge a claim with the CTP Insurer involved.
- Once you have lodged your claim, settlement must occur within three years of the date of your injury.
- If no settlement has been reached with the insurer, proceedings must be lodged with the court within that three-year period.
- If you are injured as a minor (i.e under 18 years of age) the limitation period for issuing proceedings in the Court is three years from the date of your 18th birthday.
If the above time limits are missed this can make it very difficult to claim compensation.
If you have been involved in an accident of this nature, we urge you to seek legal advice as soon as possible to ensure that you meet the above claim timeframes.
I have received an offer from the insurer involved with my case, what should I do?
If you are dealing with an insurance company directly for injuries that you have sustained from a personal injury or motor vehicle accident matter, you will most likely receive a minimal settlement. Your best approach is to get the right legal representation so that you are fully compensated for your injury. You may be entitled to medical expenses and loss of income, as well as compensation for your injury. Get in touch with Mahony’s Lawyers soon to talk to one of our solicitors.
