Common Law Claims

You are entitled to make a common law claim if you are able to establish that your injury was a result of negligence or fault on the part of your employer.

Prior to making a common law claim you must first go through the process outlined under Statutory Claims.

Once you have rejected the Medical Assessment Tribunal’s offer you are able to make a common law claim by serving a Notice of Claim for Damages upon your employer and WorkCover Queensland.

The exception to this process is if you sustained an injury at work between 15 October 2013 through to 30 January 2015. In this circumstance you are only able to make a common law claim if your injuries have been assessed at a greater then 5% whole person impairment by WorkCover Queensland. This is a legacy of the Newman Government Legislation.

When making a common law claim, you must make the claim within three years of your injury occurring otherwise your claim will be statute barred.

Under a Common Law claim you may claim an amount for:

• Pain and suffering;
• Past and future medical expenses;
• Care and assistance; and
• Past and future economic loss.

Common Law claims can be very substantial. We assist our clients no win no fee in relation to these claims and are available obligation free to discuss your claim. By making a claim you are not suing your employer but rather pursuing WorkCover as your employer’s insurer.

Many workers are in fact employed by employment agencies. In those cases any injury caused by the negligence of your host employer is covered by the public liability insurer of the third party employer and a claim is available under the Personal Injury Proceedings Act.

It is a relatively simple process to make a common law claim and the first step after assessment by WorkCover is the completion of documents known as the Notice of Claim for Damages. Medical reports are then obtained, and a meeting held with WorkCover to determine whether settlement can be reached to compensate you for the injuries you have suffered. As mentioned, that settlement sum can be very substantial.