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Welcome to The Workover

By on April 12, 2013 in Ramblings & Whinges, Stories, WorkCover, WorkSafe Vic

Welcome to The Workover “Workover” is what I’ve come to call the industry that thrives off the billion dollar annual WorkCover budget in Victoria. “Workover” is a corruption of the word “WorkCover”, one that comes naturally to mind when you’ve spent any time in the system. WorkCover promises rehabilitation, compensation, and return to work for [...]

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Workcover surveillance – what if the roles were reversed?

By on March 14, 2013 in Ramblings & Whinges, Surveillance

An injured worker was recently followed by several [workcover] private investigators for more than a year. But the creeps did not only followthe injured worker around, they also followed his wife and daughter, who have no workcover claim! Another seriously injured worker based in NSW recently told us he had to sell his house because [...]

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Being on workcover means losing control & with lack of control comes desperation

By on March 11, 2013 in Frustration & Violence, Psych, Ramblings & Whinges

The harsh reality few understand -and even fewer are willingly to express openly- is that when an injured worker is on the “system”, they start to lose control, and lack of control can often lead to desperation – and a desperate injured worker, “fed up” with the workcover system act out in different ways. Many [...]

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Why Injured workers want to return to work

By on October 6, 2012 in Case manager (follies), Ramblings & Whinges, Return to work, suitable employment

For whatever obscure reason workcover case managers are drilled and brainwashed time and time again to believe that just about all injured workers are up to no good and are only looking for a free holiday. I always tear my hair out at this sickening and totally unsubstantiated statement.  As we posted under “myths”: Injured [...]

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The workcover case manager ten commandments

By on September 16, 2012 in Case manager (follies), Ramblings & Whinges

This article [rant!!] covers what we believe should be the  Ten Commandments of workcover insurance that should be followed by all workcover case managers working to fulfill the promises made by the insurer to the injured worker… The workcover case manager ten commandments An important duty of a workcover case manager is to confirm coverage [...]

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Being on workcover is war

By on September 7, 2012 in Case manager (follies), Ramblings & Whinges, Tips & Tricks, WorkCover

The more I think about how to describe what it is like to be a medium to severely injured worker on workcover, the closer I get to a description: it is war! It shouldn’t be a warfare -or better yet: an Asymmetric Warfare- but it is , this is what becomes because you will find [...]

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Why on earth would injured workers commit deceit, fraud or malinger?

By on August 27, 2012 in Fraud & Abuse, Ramblings & Whinges, Surveillance

According to tabloids, government, workcover and their agents it is “not rare” to learn that an injured worker who is unable to work, is actually “gainfully employed” while claiming workers compensation and that malingering and corruption is a “significant concern”. Why on earth would injured workers commit deceit, fraud or malinger? With 8 years of [...]

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How a company turned 13 workcover claims into just 2

By on August 22, 2012 in Ramblings & Whinges, WorkCover, WTF

It has come to our attention, via our forum discussions, that the website Return to Work Matters featured a bizarre article in which a workers compensation manager [Annette Photios] managed to reduce  13 major  workcover claims (each of $100,000 plus) to just two. Amongst the coercive strategies used, they go in to full rehab from [...]

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Last year WorkCover NSW and WorkSafe outlined alarming costs of workers comp, but no plans of reform

By on June 25, 2012 in Ramblings & Whinges, WorkCover NSW, WorkSafe Vic

In December last year (2011) we recall that both WorkCover NSW and WorkSafe Victoria clarified the alarming cost of workers’ compensation claims for stress, industrial deafness and musculoskeletal disorders, and outlined what they planned to do to help employers reduce them in their 2011-2015 Occupational Disease and Wellbeing Strategy. There was/is no mention of reforming [...]

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Moral dilemma ahead for O Farrell Government

By on June 5, 2012 in Ramblings & Whinges, WorkCover NSW

There is much more to reforms than  simply cutting costs. There are a host of human welfare issues to consider.  Failure to acknowledge the very real impact of ill-conceived and arbitrary cost cutting of current benefits will have on the lives’ of injured workers and their families presents a very real moral dilemma for the [...]

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WTF do you unions do nowadays?

By on March 28, 2012 in Ramblings & Whinges, Unions, WTF

4Q2x has tweeted a wonderful and strongly opinionated but o-so-true mini article about the- frankly- useless Unions….WE say, you KICK BUTT 4Q2X!!! WTF do you unions do nowadays?   WTF do you unions do nowadays? I mean individual workers are doing more than Unions check out @WCVictimsdiary and the blog #auspol — Azrael (@4Q2x) March [...]

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When injury is used as vengeance

By on February 28, 2012 in Bullying & Stress, Diary entries, Psych, Ramblings & Whinges

There is no doubt that many injured workers are mistreated. They do not receive approval for diagnostic tests (i.e.MRI, CT etc.), treatment is intentionally delayed by the workcover insurance company, procedures are denied or cancelled, prescriptions are rebutted and financial compensation (i.e. weekly payments, reimbursements etc.) is not sent. The injured worker, in a dependent [...]

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