I got injured what should I do now?
Be prepared to fight for everything and to expect that everything will be rejected by the insurance agent and your employer. If you have no expectations to start with then it will not cause that much stress or frustration as it would otherwise. Read More
Keep a diary and note down everything that happens and whatever is discussed between you and your employer or the insurance agent (both face to face and phone conversations). Read More
Written Communication is very important and therefore it is best if you can communicate with the insurance agent and your employer via email and / text and keep a copy for your records. Read More
Keep everyone informed, specially your GP and other treating practitioners, about how you are feeling and about all the changes in your condition (positive or negative). Read More
Stick to 1 GP as it makes easier for yourself to have all your history about the injury with one doctor/ clinic. By law neither the insurance agent nor your employer can force you to see a doctor of their choice, it is your legal right to see the doctor you wish to see. You can be asked to go and see an IME if the insurance agent wants a second opinion but they cannot force you to see a doctor of their choice on regular bases for everyday things like medical certificates, scripts, referrals etc. Read More
Declare everything about any part time or family businesses or any volunteer work (that you have or had been doing) in the WorkCover Claim form or notify your employer and/ or insurance agent in writing to keep yourself and your claim on the safer side and avoid any future issues or dramas. Read More
Medical Certificates (Certificates of Capacity) are also a very important part of your claim and you should make sure that you have continuous certificates from the GP and these certificates should clearly define any restrictions or modifications, dates and medical information. The certificates of capacity also requires you to complete a declaration asking whether you have been involved in any sort of work (including volunteer work) while you have been injured. If you are not sure or if you have a part time business on your name (regardless of the fact if you haven’t been working in the business) then you should declare yes in this section. Normally you are required to also provide a proof of income if you declare yes, but if you send your certificate via email and have not made any income from other sources then you can just mention in the same that yes you have this business or it is the family business but you haven’t made any wages or money from it. Read More
Ask for help if you need it. If you need any help with household cleaning, gardening or other help then you should talk to your GP and ask for a referral for these services. You can then send the referral to your case manager for approval. The insurance agent will most likely organize an ADL (activities of daily living) assessment in which the assessor comes to your house to check the things you were able to do before injury and how can they help you get them done after the injury. In most cases they approve some initial help where they pay someone to do these jobs for you with a plan to work on how they can get you to start doing them yourself again (for example, if you are unable to start a petrol lawn mower due to a back injury then they can look at getting you a battery operated lawn mower). Read More
Follow the Return to Work plans approved by your GP or an IME or any other practitioner involved. WorkCover authorities focus a lot on injured workers returning back to work and the insurance agents misuse this. A lot of times the insurance agents will get your employer to develop a return to work plan for you. The plan may be to get you back to work on restricted duties or increase your duties and/ or hours. If you do not follow this return to work plan then the insurance agents have he power to suspend and eventually terminate your weekly payments entitlement. If this is done, you’ll be left fighting this in a lengthy court battle.
Therefore, it is best to make an effort to try and follow the return to work plan. If you make an effort and are unable to continue to follow it (for example, if your pain has increased and you are ending up spending more time in the first aid room) then you should go back to your GP and get them to write report explaining the same and also ask them to mention in this report about what they believe your capacity/ hours/ duties should be along with any potential aggravation or other problems that the GP believes can occur due to you continuing to follow that return to work plan. Then send this to your employer and the insurance agent.
Your employer and the insurance agent will then have to either develop a new return to work plan for you or just agree with the duties/ hours/ restrictions specified by your GP in her report. If your employer or insurance agent still forces you to follow the same old return to work plan then you should contact Worksafe authority in your state and lodge an official complaint in writing (along with the copies of the reports).
