If you can prove that your employer is responsible for your injury sustained at the workplace, you may be entitled to get work injury damages. However, you must be aware that receiving work injury damages means that you are no longer entitled to any compensation as part of workers’ insurance. If you are looking for a professional legal advice related to work injury damages, click here.
What Are Work Injury Damages?
“Work injury damages” is the term used to define a certain amount of money that you receive as compensation for an injury caused at your workplace. You are entitled to damages only if you can prove that the injury was caused due to your employer’s negligence. Workers may be entitled to claiming compensation for “past loss of earnings” and “future loss of earning capacity”.
The amount received as damages will be reduced if you were partly responsible for your injury.
Who Can Claim Work Injury Damages?
Work injury damages can only be claimed by a person who has at least 15% permanent impairment. Further, the person should make a workers compensation claim for lump sum compensation under Section 66 of the Workers Compensation Act, 1987 (after this, referred to as “the Act”).
The person should also have received other statutory entitlements. If a person receives work injury damages, he/she is no longer entitled to a worker’s insurance claim. The person should also prove that the injury was caused due to the employer’s negligence and could have been avoided otherwise.
What Should You Do After You’ve Sustained a Work Injury?
The foremost thing to do is to seek good legal advice from qualified lawyers. Click here if you are looking for legal guidance.
You can also consider contacting:
- The Law Society;
- The Independent Review Officer (IRO).
The entities mentioned above can give you a list of approved legal service providers. You should also be aware of the term “inclusive of costs”. It means you agree with your lawyer, whereby the lawyer’s fees will be deducted from the workers’ settlement amount.
Steps to Claim Compensation
The steps to be followed are:
- Make a claim under Section 66 of the Act;
- Submit a pre-filing defense and a pre-filing statement;
- Mediation proceedings;
- Court proceeding.
Each of these steps should be followed within prescribed time frames and are complex. They also involve specific documents which must be submitted within the stipulated time. It is essential to obtain legal guidance and support from experienced lawyers to emerge successfully. If the work injury damages are not settled at the mediation phase, the matter will proceed to court. You will also need a solicitor to represent you at court.
What to Bear in Mind
It is important to note that you have to make a claim within three years from your accident date for it to be considered valid. Good legal representation is practically essential to claiming work injury damages. Your lawyer will help you through each of the four stages of claiming your damages. Further, your lawyer will also help you draft and present the documents relevant to each of these steps.
