You surely know by now that we are allergic to the abuse of the very costly and wasteful surveillance by workcover (Authorities, insurers, self-insurers and employers) of injured workers, portraying them all as fraudulent malingerers. As we have pointed out on numerous occasions, many genuinely injured workers are “routinely” accused of “fraud” and have their [...]
Tag Archives | legal cases
SA Premier accused of unprofessional conduct as previous workcover lawyer
A Disabled man has accused SA Premier Jay Weatherill of unprofessional conduct and will now seek Attorney-General John Rau’s permission to prosecute him. SA Premier Jay Weatherhill accused of unprofessional conduct as previous workcover lawyer Alexander David Mericka has filed action against Mr Weatherill in the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal. His complaint against Mr Weatherill, [...]
Reckless injured worker’s common law damages reduced by 70%
A couple of weeks ago I came across this bizarre but interesting Victorian legal case, whereby the Victorian Supreme Court decided (in 2011) to reduce common law damages awarded to a seriously injured worker by a whopping 70% -because the injured worker – who suffers a major back injury – continued to “recklessly” work on [...]
Vexatious “injured” worker blocked by the courts – again
Further to “madame Zena’s” comment about an injured worker running the risk of being seen as or declared a vexatious litigant; here is a fairly recent (Dec 2011) and real legal case of a real vexatious litigant – an injured worker who initiated dozens of court actions relating to injuries and other issues against his [...]
NSW injured workers can still make a further claim for impairment for that same injury – new legal case
More good news for NSW injured workers! In this recent (20 May 2013) legal NSW case, the Workers Compensation Commission’s verdict in the case of Di Matteo v RDM Ceramics Pty Limited essentially means that if an injured worker has made ANY type of claim before to 19/6/12 then he/she can still make a further [...]
Federal Court ruled AAT required to explain why it preferred the IME’s evidence
Have you ever wondered why some judges or arbitrators “prefer” the evidence given from one particular doctor over another? And what if they prefer the evidence given by a highly biased insurance doctor over the evidence of for example an expert specialist who knows the injured worker well and who has treated the injured worker? [...]
Medical Panels must provide clear reasons – Supreme Court Vic
A decision of the Medical Panel is usually legally binding on the parties and a court is generally required to follow its decision. Therefore great care and consideration is needed in determining whether to refer a matter to a Medical Panel. In February this year we posted an article titled “Beware that Medical Panel opinions [...]
Workcover stress claims and reasonable administrative action
Further to the new proposed anti-bullying laws, which would include clarification as to what bullying is not – that is, reasonable management action carried out in a reasonable manner is not bullying – we dug up a few interesting, recent legal cases to illustrate what Tribunals and Courts currently deem what is reasonable or unreasonable [...]
No need for pain medication – workers compensation denied!
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 [...]
Surveillance video shows effective short term treatment – not deceit!
We’re not giving up and (will) continue to discredit the use of the very costly and wasteful surveillance by workcover (Authorities, insurers, self-insurers and employers) of injured workers, portraying them as fraudulent malingerers. Again, let’s set some records and “gotcha” surveillance facts straight, given that workcover, their agents and the media seem to conveniently “forget” [...]
Workcover surveillance fails to prove famous gotcha fraud, breached Act
We, seriously injured workers, continue to find it alarming that so many people in the community continue to question the “genuine” status of injured workers. The media obviously has a large role to play by reinforcing the stereotype of injured workers as fraudulent malingerers, even though research has proven over and over again that injured [...]
Judge criticises law firm about rejection of more generous settlement offer
The law firm, Harmers Workplace Lawyers, that was blasted by a Federal Court judge over its conduct in the Peter Slipper sexual harassment case has come in for more criticism over a claim that a client rejected a settlement offer nearly five times more generous than she ultimately received. Judge criticises law firm over rejection of [...]
NSW Court rules workcover amendments affecting lumpsums do not apply retrospectively
A really very important decision has been handed down by the NSW court of appeal today. The Court has held that the amendments affecting lump sum compensation that came into effect on 19 June 2012 do not apply to any worker who had made a lump sum claim before 19 June 2012 NSW Court rules [...]
Deed of release often used in settling workcover cases- what are they?
Deeds of release are often used in settling workcover cases and common law claims between employers (or their representing insurance companies and defense lawyers) and injured workers — but what are they really? In this article, we try to discuss what deed are, how they’re written and provide very important tips on their use for [...]
Wake up call for medical report writers
In this legal NSW case, the Court of Appeal has given a ‘wake up call’ to those who practice in the personal injury area. In jurisdictions such as the Workers Compensation Commission (WCC), where the usual practice is to tender medical reports without calling oral evidence from the author of the reports – including not [...]
When has the employer done enough to avoid liability for psychiatric injury claim?
Further to our popular “stress claims” topic, and the highlighted, very stressful uphill battle for most psychologically injured workers face in having to prove their injury was caused at work and that “reasonable action was taken in an unreasonable manner or unreasonable action taken in a reasonable manner”, which obviously will be fought tooth and [...]
Supported by Erin Brockovich
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Wayne Rogers: I am also in the same predicament. Due to receivin...
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Pauline Pope: Damned if we do and damned if we don't. Most unse...
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WorkcoverVictim: As mentioned within the article we have now posted...
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Bunny: The whole system is up the creek. Injured workers ...
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At A Loss: TOTALLY!...
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pet: Im new to this site but I do not know what to expe...
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Dan: I've had a hip injury sustained by manually loadi...
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carefactor0: Thanks Pugsley, I am glad I have finely found a pl...
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John McPhilbin: These rulings and legal speak can be confusing - i...
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NSW injured workers can still make a further claim for impairment for that same injury – new legal case
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NSW Court rules workcover amendments affecting lumpsums do not apply retrospectively
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Faulty assumptions only adds insult to injured workers
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WorkCover NSW average premiums cut by 7.5 per cent
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Workcover case managers listen to background noise when phoning injured workers – WTF
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Deed of release often used in settling workcover cases- what are they?
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Government plan to make Comcare best practice model
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New proposed anti-bullying laws: changes to FairWork Act
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Assault on injured workers – more evidence and concern S.I.A
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Employers incl RTW Coordinators are not allowed to attend doctors appointments
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Vic Premier Naphtine called building workers safety march a disgrace
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Recoveries of money under workcover
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Workcover compensation schemes impede recovery from injury
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Judge criticises law firm about rejection of more generous settlement offer
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Common law damages claim and duty of care of the employer
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Surveillance video shows effective short term treatment – not deceit!
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Injured worker aggravates work injury after fall at home – weekly pay ceased!
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Compensation NSW change is a win for injured workers – we urge eligible injured workers to lodge lumpsum claims
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Workcover Certificates: Doctors must ensure they’re carefully worded
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When can weekly payments in Victoria be terminated
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Link between workplace bullying and subsequent mental disorders
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Another fraud accused injured worker entitled to workcover!
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SA Premier accused of unprofessional conduct as previous workcover lawyer
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Reckless injured worker’s common law damages reduced by 70%
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Report condems “untouchable” police officers amid bullying claims
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Vexatious “injured” worker blocked by the courts – again
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The huge cost of workplace stress and depression
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NSW injured workers can still make a further claim for impairment for that same injury – new legal case
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What has the attack on NSW’s Workers Compensation laws meant for you?
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When can weekly payments in Victoria be terminated
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How are damages calculated
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How to spot chronic workplace bullies
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Common law damages claim and duty of care of the employer
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Federal Court ruled AAT required to explain why it preferred the IME’s evidence
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Medical Panels must provide clear reasons – Supreme Court Vic
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Workcover Certificates: Doctors must ensure they’re carefully worded
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Injured worker denied recommended back surgery and at wit’s end
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Change WorkCover. Give injured workers a fair go – Petition
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Injured worker’s weekly pay cut off based on biased pain doctor’s report
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Injured worker collapsed after “performance management” meeting – horror story
Forum for injured workers
Social Club Victorian Injured workers – SIC
**Next meeting April 2013**
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