When you have a work-related psychological injury or mental health condition, our workers’ compensation psychological injury lawyers let you know your eligibility to claim WorkCover weekly benefits and lump sum compensation. Furthermore, when your job escalates existing mental health injuries, you could also have a successful psychological injury claim.
Splatt Lawyer’s team of workers’ compensation mental injury lawyers have assisted Queensland employees harmed by their job for nearly three decades.
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You can be injured at work both physically and psychologically. In Queensland, you have the legal right to a healthy and safe workplace, so when an employer’s negligence causes you harm, you have a legal right to restitution. When someone acquires any diagnosed psychological injury or psychiatric disorder because of their job, they could be eligible to claim workers’ compensation.
Work claims for psychological injury are also known as mental health or work stress claims. They are the same thing, with the only difference being the type of disorder. It would help if you understood that lesser well-being issues, like job stress, would not qualify as a claim. Everyone experiences work-related stress occasionally, but not with a recognised psychological injury.
Please speak with our legal team if you are still determining if you qualify. It costs nothing to know your eligibility to claim. Call Now – 1800 700 125
Our expert lawyers can guide you through the legal process to a better tomorrow.
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The idea of paying legal fees might make you feel more stressed if a workplace psychological injury has affected your ability to earn an income. So, you will be pleased to understand that you have no financial risk when you choose Splatt Lawyers for your workers’ compensation case. Our No Win, No Fee, No Risk guarantee means that you:
Our experienced workplace accident and injury lawyers will be pleased to show you our legal cost agreement that outlines our 100% No Win, No Fee policy.
You can claim workers’ compensation benefits when you are diagnosed with a mental injury, and your job is a significant contributing factor. Furthermore, you can also have successful psychological injury claims when a pre-existing psychological condition worsens because of your work.
You are eligible to claim compensation if you are a:
Contact us for your legal options and eligibility for your free case review, or use our fast online claim check, or Call Now – 1800 700 125.
Comprehensive and compelling medical evidence is essential for a successful legal outcome. Mental health professionals will diagnose and treat your condition. When seeking compensation, Workcover will give more weight to a psychological or psychiatric assessment than one from a general practitioner.
Typically, the employee has the burden of proof when claiming workers’ compensation. For this reason, you will likely need an expert work injury lawyer to support you through the legal process.
Your claim will not succeed when your injury is due to the following:
When you have a workplace psychological injury common law claim, the value of your damages is based on the loss related to your condition. This can include your:
Generally, the value of common law compensation depends on the severity of your work injury (its impact on your life) and your chance of recovery. As with all legal cases, the quality of evidence is the key to success.
Comprehensive expert reports from doctors and psychiatrists supporting your prognosis are essential for your case. The impact of your mental injury on your life can also include your lost future career path, which is often overlooked in common-law psychological claims.
Our experienced mental injury lawyers will help you know your legal options, the approximate value of your claim and the steps for a successful claim.
Queensland workers have previously had successful psychological injury claims for:
When you have a psychological injury, you can experience trauma symptoms like anger, blurred thinking, social withdrawal, guilt, and overall fatigue.
You could also seek personal injury compensation if you already had mental injuries and your work made it recur, accelerate, escalate or deteriorate. Changes in your health that challenge your capacity to work can be eligible.
In Queensland, there are a range of workplace incidents or behaviours that commonly cause a WorkCover claim for psychological injuries, including:
Reasonable management action is feedback or disciplinary action provided by your manager with the intent of helping you improve your work performance. Actions arising from a performance review, such as dismissal, demotion, transfer, retrenchment or redeployment, could be considered reasonable under certain circumstances. Failure to award other benefits, including promotion, can also be reasonable.
To accept your workers’ compensation claim, you must show that your illness is not the consequence of reasonable management action. Your employer must have breached their duty of care for your claim to succeed.
If Queensland WorkCover rejects your psychological injury claim, you can request a decision review. Generally, you must lodge your request within three months of the initial outcome.
Your review lodgement should provide fresh factual and medical proof for the Workplace Insurance Regulator that reinforces your claim. They will then re-assess your case and either set aside, validate, or substitute the original decision.
Whether you have physical injuries, a pre existing psychological condition, or a new mental illness, an injured worker could be eligible to make a whole person impairment claim. Generally, the permanent impairment claim process begins when a worker’s compensation claim ends. At this time, your weekly payments cease, and you have an ISV assessment. When approved, the QLD WorkCover insurer will make a lump sum permanent impairment payout, which settles your claim for psychological injury.
However, you must seek legal advice at this time. Because the actions you take next could prevent you from seeking common law damages, which are usually larger.
There are strict time constraints for Queensland mental health claims. According to section 131 of the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld), you must lodge your case within six months in most cases. There are minimal circumstances where this rule does not apply. In some instances, WorkCover can choose to waive this time limit, but this is rare.
Furthermore, common law claims are common for severe psychological injuries. In this situation, you are suing your employer for damages. (Your Queensland employer’s insurance company typically funds your compensation.) There is a three-year time limit for damages claims from when your psychological health issue began.
In all claim cases, early intervention is your best legal strategy. Expert legal advice will help you understand the actions you should take (and not take) to support your case. Your case evaluation costs nothing, so get started now.
Claiming against WorkCover for a workplace mental illness is more challenging than a physical injury. There are several reasons for this:
In Queensland, approximately 6% of workers’ compensation claims were for a psychiatric disorder, and they denied about half of these. Thankfully, about a quarter of rejected claims had their decision reversed.
Enduring the hassle of making a legal claim when having a disordered mind is difficult. So yes, workplace mental injury claims can be stressful. However, a skilled workplace compensation lawyer will take on the burden of your case and find your best legal strategy. Contact our team now to understand how we can help – Call 1800 700 125.
If your psychiatric disorder prevents you from working again in your usual occupation, you might also have a Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) claim. In this case, you claim the TPD benefit contained within your superannuation insurance policy. When you have a successful psychological disability claim, a lump sum payout is deposited in your superannuation account, where you can withdraw the funds.
How you acquired your mental health condition has no impact on the success of your claim. All you need to prove is that your illness stops you from working in your regular occupation. Use our quick TPD calculator now to see the value of compensation payouts.
Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld) has sections relating specifically to WorkCover claims for first responders and other eligible employees when exposed to trauma because of their job. When diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder by a psychiatrist under diagnostic criteria DSM5, the mental illness is work-related when it:
Here is a list of eligible occupations under Queensland workers’ compensation legislation:
The Queensland Worker’s Compensation Act protects workers who have an accepted claim. Your boss cannot terminate your employment because of your injury for 12 months. If you were sacked during this period, they would be penalised.
Of course, having a WorkCover claim for a mental injury can impact your future career plans within your industry. It would help if you considered the benefits you will achieve from pursuing compensation versus how it will affect your future employment.
If your condition is likely to stop you from working again in your usual occupation, consider making a Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) claim.
Our experienced work injury lawyers have supported Queensland workers for nearly three decades. When you work with Splatt Lawyers, you are accessing a wealth of personal injury legal knowledge that will increase your chance of success. They will advise you on your best course of action and assist you with collating factual evidence. Contact us for your free claim review and understand the following:
When you need expert legal advice for a psychological injury case, knowing that Splatt Lawyers is nearby is reassuring. Choose your location.
Based on previous cases in Queensland, if you are a full-time employee working up to an extra hour a day (on your usual workdays), this is not considered excessive. However, if over an extended period, you work an additional 12 hours a week, including on weekends, this is considered excessive. Every case is unique, so please contact our workers’ compensation legal team to ensure you qualify.
There are many conditions under which your job could cause you further harm when you already suffer from a psychological illness. For example, you have an excessive workload, and the constant pressure and additional hours are causing an escalation of your symptoms. Your employer would need to be aware of your existing health condition and have done nothing to address your problem.
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