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It is now more than 12 months since your worker sustained injury, and a claim was lodged. If the claim has lasted this long, it is probable that full liability for the claim was accepted for the injury. Both you and your injured employee would have had to comply with legal obligations of NSW Workers Compensation system. As an employer, this means providing a safe work place, offering suitable duties as per the medical certificate and general providing support to your worker to get back to his or her pre-injury role. You will probably have had to attend or have had return to work meetings at your workplace with your injured worker, yours or the insurer’s appointed rehabilitation provider (unless the worker has chosen a provider of their own).
Generally, much time will have been taken up attempting to accommodate your injured worker and the staff that have been affected by being short staffed. For very small employers the loss of a significant employee can have a significant effect on the business in terms of lost productivity, the time required to retrain other staff, not to mention the extra costs to the business from having made a claim. These include such things as the extra costs to use other staff - possibly outsourced labour, potentially lower or less efficient work inputs and premium rises.
If there was a clear breach of occupational health and safety and the worker’s injury was severe you could also be lumped with a hefty fine from Workcover.
If your worker is still in the system, it is probable that their life hasn’t been at all that easy over that time. It is likely that there will have been a number of unexpected challenges they have had to face, unexpected setbacks, and inevitably, secondary or tertiary health issues including, social, psychological, financial and employment difficulties.
In the following sections the most commonly experienced challenges facing workers, and indirectly employers who have been in “the system” for more than a year. Suggestions are made on ways you or your staff can manage these challenges. Advice is offered on where to go to get the advice or support needed.
The injury itself
Workers who are in the system for 12 months or more are likely to have one or more of the following:
What the worker need to do:
What you the employer needs to do:
a) Support your worker
b) Give constructive feedback to your employee if they see unaware of difficulties or are unable to manage.
c) Speak with the appointed rehabilitation provider about your concerns.
Unexpected side effects and complications from injury , i.e. surgery didn’t achieve result that was anticipated
What the worker need to do :
Side effects and complications from treatments such as medications - i.e. physical dependence, inadequate pain control , liver kidney problems
The worker need to consider having a good NTD who is aware of these issues and helps to provide referrals to therapists who can use alternate strategies that minimise medication problems
Secondary Physical injuries - For example a significant injury to a left knee or leg may result in changes of posture - leading to back problems - it may also result in the injured person favouring the other leg and overuse problems occurring in that knee. This occurs frequently with leg, knee, arm, hand and shoulder injuries. - Resulting insurer liability and subsequent treatment problems can be a significant challenge.
What the worker needs to consider:
Secondary Psychological Injuries
Anyone who is caught up in the workers compensation system for more than 3 months irrespective of the type and extent of injury is likely to have faced challenges they may have never had to deal with before and their life circumstances will have change.
One a claim is lodged and liability is accepted the worker is bound by numerous obligations for claiming workers compensation benefits ( see Workers Obligations for Workers Compensation Benefits).
After 12 months it is also likely that:
All these challenges inevitably lead to increased levels of stress even in people who manage the demands of everyday life very effectively. Many of challenges outlined cannot be “solved” easily if at all, this can result in frustrations, anxiety and anger. This can flow on and result in depression, particularly when the life situation does not seem to be improving and that there appears to be obstacles and obstructions occurring on a frequent basis. Secondary psychological injuries or put another way, psychological and social health problems are almost inevitable after 12 months for most people if they do not have the right support and progress isn’t being made.
What the worker needs to consider:
What you need to consider
Secondary psychological difficulties, problems with pain management, sleep loss, and functional restrictions all significantly affect work capacity and productivity. If the issues don’t appear to be getting addressed with the current treatment team discuss (tactfully with your worker). Also consider discussion with the rehabilitation provider and if all else fails your Agent. The agent may need to get an independent assessment of treatment strategies and goals and get further feedback from key service providers.
What the employer can do
Support your worker to get a good team.
The Workers compensation system has many stakeholders with vested interests and opinions about the way things should be done. Some of these are enshrined in legislation or “Workcover Guidelines”. Many of the attitudes and practices of stakeholders however are not so much determined by the rules, but by beliefs, culture, training (or lack) of decision makers such as insurers NTD, specialists.
The healthiest environment for progress is one of team work and collaboration where all parties manage to agree upon and work towards common goals. The injured worker has some input into this in terms of:
Rights and Responsibilities
It is important that the worker knows their rights and responsibilities and these are supported by all parties. In recent years there has been a growing emphasis on responsibility and accountability with less emphasis on rights. This is driven by a need for accountability and cost saving, in part due to some stakeholders having exploited the system for their own ends. Unfortunately this has resulted in many instances where reasonable entitlements - such as being paid on time or being able to access best practice treatments has either been refused or there are extensive delays. Extensive delays in accessing treatment and in accessing medical or rehabilitation expertise ultimately leads to a blow out in costs. It also fosters mistrust and hostility between stakeholders and passive resistance when one or other party feels they are being ignored or their needs addressed.
Basic Rights of an Injured Worker
The basic rights of an injured worker include the right of the worker to choose their:
Workers obligations
These include:
Where a worker needs to go get more support
A number of suggestions are made in the corresponding sections – “12 Months And Beyond A Guide For Injured Workers. “
Where you as an employer need to go to get advice and support
Although there are overlaps in the types of information an employer needs to know concerning their injured employee 12 months down the track, particularly in view of supporting the worker and understanding and dealing with the problems he or she may be experiencing there are some specify needs you as an employer are likely to have. These include:
Need |
Where to get information |
Predicted premium increase? |
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How long should suitable duties be offered? |
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How long should this injury take to get better? |
Over 85% of injuries should recover sufficiently for the claim to be finalised within 4 to 6 weeks. For those that don’t, feedback from a NTD, via the rehabilitation provider or return work coordinator can be useful. A request for an independent medical examination (IMC) can also be suggested to the agent to obtain this information
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Will the worker return to pre-injury levels ?
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As above |
How long will it take?
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As above |
If a worker can’t return to pre-injury duties what alternatives are there and what are the implications? |
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Can I have a common law claim made against me in relation to a particular claim? |
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