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DBH Lawyers

- 23 Oct 2017
  • Personal Injury

Workplace Accidents

What is a workplace accident?

A straightforward example of a workplace accident is; you’re climbing up a ladder at work and you fall off breaking your leg.  That’s a really straightforward example of a physical injury that can be sustained in the course of your employment.  Another example is a psychiatric injury that can often appear over a period of time, several months, and several years.  Sometimes there are things that build up over time that create a psychiatric illness in a worker, which will lead to a workplace injury.

What happens at your first meeting with a lawyer?

At the first meeting, one of my first questions will be; “have you lodged a Return To Work SA claim form?”  This is really important and it constitutes any workplace claim for any workers’ compensation.  If you have lodged a claim form has your claim been accepted?  In which case the matter is much more straightforward.  If the claim has been rejected we would need to take further steps to for example issue an application for review in the South Australian Employment Tribunal.  In addition to the claim form, I would also be asking the worker to provide any copies of any medical reports or prescribed medical certificates, otherwise known as WorkCover certificates which they have got from their doctor or another medical provider.

What is the timeframe for a claim?

The sooner the better.  Particularly if your claim has been rejected.  You only have one month from the date of the rejection to dispute the rejection of your claim.  In any event I would recommend that you contact a lawyer as soon as possible after sustaining the injury even just to gain some preliminary advice about what you should do.

 

If you have injured yourself at work and require advice, contact DBH by free calling 1800 324 324 or send us a message to arrange a no obligation appointment.