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Injured workers are all drug addicts – WTF

By on May 31, 2013 in Case manager (follies), Medication, Pain, WTF

You may have recently read that Comcare is cracking down on injured workers’ profiteering from its generous pharmaceutical benefits and on workers’ compensation claims being used to fund drug habits. You also may have had your pain medication “reviewed” by your workcover case manager, and wondered what is going on. Well, we had a chat [...]

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No need for pain medication – workers compensation denied!

By on May 12, 2013 in Comcare, Legal cases, Pain, WTF

In this -painful- legal case, an injured worker has been denied workers compensation for a manual handling injury sustained at Australia Post, after it was found she was not taking medication for pain relief! OMG! No need for pain medication – workers compensation denied! Background of the case A courier driver for Australia Post sustained [...]

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A Grealy painful blow

By on December 6, 2012 in Compensation, Frustration & Violence, Media, News, Pain, Serious injury, Shame files, WorkCover, WorkCover NSW, Workplace injury, WorkSafe Vic, WTF

Another story of delay and stall from Workcover. This time the argument lies with which Workcover NSW or Victoria is going to take responsibility for the injured worker. As Luke Grealy struggles with healing from this disabling accident, Workcover is only concerned with red tape and where they they will pass the buck. NSW has [...]

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Workplace injury not serious “enough” for damages says judge – WTF?

By on November 26, 2012 in Common Law, Legal cases, Pain, Serious injury, WorkSafe Vic, WTF

Where on earth does one start on this! In this disturbing, recent (Oct 2012) legal case, the judge claims the injured worker has exaggerated her pain condition. She has a chronic pain disorder, which is labelled by the judge as a “mental condition”! Exaggerating pain is what chronic pain conditions do! That finding from the [...]

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Workcover, suitable duties and legally intoxicated on medication

By on November 22, 2012 in Pain, suitable employment, Tips & Tricks, WorkCover

We received an email from an injured worker, which we believed is well worth sharing with all as it raises important questions about liability when driving (or having an accident) when under the influence of narcotic, in others words, whilst being legally intoxicated and being forced to work (by the insurer, doctor, employer) and/or by [...]

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The distress of living with chronic pain: Injured worker

By on September 13, 2012 in Pain, Psych, Stories

John describes the distress and uncertainty of living with chronic pain. The distress of living with chronic pain Most injured workers who have and continue to suffer from chronic pain will identify with this story. The despair John describes is consistent with our own findings and the model we have constructed. View the IWSN mental [...]

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Injured and bullied, government worker despairs over WorkCover changes

By on June 29, 2012 in Bullying & Stress, Compensation, Corruption, Employment, Entitlements, Pain, Permanent impairmemt, Return to work, Serious injury, Shame files, suitable employment, WorkCover NSW, WTF

A severely injured State Government employee from Sydney reports his despair at the thought of Barry OFarrell’s proposals to step down of weekly payments and discontinue medical treatment after 2 years . The injured worker(who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of repercussions) has  recently been advised he has to undergo an extensive back operation shortly that [...]

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Chronic pain and workers compensation – review is needed in medico-legal consultant industry

By on June 18, 2012 in Corruption, Medical Exam (IME), Pain, WorkCover

This amazing and most enlightening video clip features a lawyer who suffered a workplace injury to her back and neck and who suffers chronic pain. She discusses the major issues injured workers face with the so-called medico-legal consultants (doctors) and really wonders if these are doctors who are struck off, where their Hippocratic oath is [...]

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Workplace injury and now battling narcotic abuse and addiction – support needed

By on June 17, 2012 in Pain, Psych, Stories

A couple of days ago we received a heart-wrenching plea for help via email, from a New York based injured worker ["D"] who, most unfortunately, developed a nasty addiction to narcotics after back surgery for a workplace injury for which he went into rehabilitation. However, his pain is getting worse and since he has come [...]

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WorkCover state the AMA guide does not recognise chronic pain

By on June 12, 2012 in Legislation, Medical Panel, Pain, Permanent impairmemt, WorkCover NSW, WTF

We received an email overnight from an injured worker pointing to a submission as recently made to the Joint Committee into the workers compensation NSW scheme. The submission raises interesting and very important questions, namely that WorkCover states the AMA guide does not recognise (rate) chronic pain and how does this impact injured workers who, [...]

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When your work injury pain is labelled as just a psychological condition scam

By on March 16, 2012 in Case manager (follies), Fraud & Abuse, Insurance claims, Medical Resources, Pain, Psych

Many injured workers who suffer genuine, severe chronic pain are often labelled by the workcover insurer case manager, the workcover insurer “doctor” and some hired guns as suffering from just a psychological condition such as depression, anxiety or personality disorder. Basically they are accused that the genuine, severe and chronic pain they suffer is nothing [...]

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People with chronic pain undergo significant victimisation, disbelief and stigmatisation

By on February 27, 2012 in Fraud & Abuse, Medical Exam (IME), Pain, WorkCover, WTF

As shown in our posted case of workcover/Westpac vs.Ms Andrews, despite  lack of objective findings in many cases, there is no doubt that chronic pain patients are suffering and are in genuine distress, and that the disability they experience is real! Yet, despite this reality, and since chronic pain sufferers are impaired by a condition [...]

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Intractable pain: nine steps for injured workers

By on January 10, 2012 in Medical Resources, Pain

This  “manual” by Forest Tennant M.D., Dr. P.H. from the renowned Veract Intractable Pain Clinic in Canada describes the therapeutic measures you must take particularly if you want pain free hours rather than a constant state of pain.  Intractable pain patients tend to think that simply taking opioid medication will solve their problems.  This is [...]

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Chronic pain and sex

By on December 27, 2011 in Pain, Resources

How do people with chronic pain and their partners maintain a healthy, exciting sex life? Chronic Pain: Stop it from Sucking the Fun Out of Your Sex Life by Kal Cobalt Though chronic pain has become a more medically-recognized condition, whether as a complication of another diagnosis or an unexplained phenomenon existing by itself, one [...]

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workcover compensation for back pain should be scrapped says top back surgeon

By on November 20, 2011 in Media, Pain, WTF

workcover compensation for back pain does more harm than good and should be scrapped, a prominent back surgeon says. Yeah right, what an *sshole! Award-winning orthopedic and spinal surgeon, Dr Orso Osti, wants the law changed so workers can no longer receive compensation for low back pain.”I am beginning to feel, after so many years [...]

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Work injury: if it hurts treat it like it hurts!

By on October 12, 2011 in Pain, Tips & Tricks

There may be times where, even though you are in a lot of pain, you decide to just to “grin and bear it.”  Maybe because you don’t want to be seen as a wuss, or be demonised by your employer by submitting a workcover claim (see previous post: an injured worker’s perspective of a sick [...]

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