Even with new research showing that *83% of Queenslanders support the right of workers to bring legal claims for injuries in unsafe workplaces, and 73% believing workers should be able to claim for minor injuries as well, the Qld government today have moved to change the WorkCover scheme, which could include capping common law payouts and scrapping insurance protections for workers during commutes and lunch breaks.
It’s not good news for workers because it means that some people injured at work through no fault of their own, in some cases quite seriously, will have no entitlement to fair compensation. If they can’t work they’ll been thrown on to Centrelink benfits and will suffer all the socio economic consequences that often flow from being on a low income.
Some people won’t be able to pay their mortgages, car loans may go unpaid and some people could lose everything, because there is no longer the safety net of a fair workers compensation system.
A 5% threshold could now apply to workplace injury claims in Qld.
This means that unless a person has a 6% whole person impairment or more they have no rights to common law damages.
There are many people who are seriously disabled with whole person impairments far less than 6% who can’t work, particularly with injuries to their hands or feet.
The introduction of this threshold could see the number of common law claims reduced by half, across the board.
People with existing Workers Compensation claims should be unaffected by the new changes.
To find out more about how these changes may affect you and your claim for compensation, please contact GC law on 1300 302 318. Additionally, please take a look at our resources on The Role Of WorkCover, The Rehabilitation Process and Workers Compensation Claims.
* ReachTEL poll conducted on Thursday 10th Oct.
