If you have sustained an injury at work in NSW, you should:-
- Immediately report the injury to your employer. Your employer is required to record the injury in its register of injuries whether you claim workers compensation or not. Every employer is required to keep a register which contains information incluiding the time and date of the injury, its nature and cause.
- See your Doctor. Your Doctor should complete and provide you with a Workcover Certificate of Capacity.
- Hand the Certificate of Capacity to your employer together with any bills or expenses for medical treatment for reimbursement.
- Notify the insurer of your injury This can be done by you or your employer.
- A claim form will only need to be completed if:
- The insurer has a reasonable excuse to not commence provisional liability payments and has notified the worker.
- Weekly payements exceed the 12 week provisional liability period or medical expenses exceed $7,500.00 and there is insuffient information to determine ongoing liability.
- The injury has been notified but there is insufficient information to determine liablity.
Provisional liability payments should commence within seven (7) days of receiving notification of your injury. However, the insurer does not have to commence provisional payments if they have a “reasonable excuse”. This includes insufficient medical information to establish injury, failure to establish your status as a worker or failure to notify your employer within two (2) months of the date of your injury.
Time Limits on claiming compensation
You should make a WorkCover claim within six (6) months from the date of your injury or accident. However, it is possible to make a claim after the expiry of the specified six (6) months if your failure to make a claim was due to ignorance, mistake or absence from the State where you have made the claim for workers’ compensation. A claim for injuries resulting in death or serious permanent impairment may be made within three (3) years from the date of the injury
If you have been injured you may be entitled to compensation. Call Peter Moore on (02) 4324 7699 to find out where you stand.