Case Overview
- A labourer was on the job site when he felt a popping noise coming from his lower back that caused him extreme pain.
- The insurer accepted full liability for his work injury.
- Our client was able to earn whole-person impairment compensation for his work injury.
Our client was a labourer working at a job site in the southeastern suburb of Sydney. At the end of the work day, he felt a popping sensation in his lower back that was causing him extreme pain. He informed his employer of his work injury.
His doctor requested he gets X-rays done. The insurer accepted liability for his work injury.
It was determined by the doctors that he had sustained disruption of the L4/5 disc following the work injury. He had two lumbar nerve root decompression operations that subsequently required a lower back fusion operation at the L4/L5 disc level.
He attempted to return to work and was only able to undertake labour on reduced hours with restricted capacity. Even so, he found it difficult to cope with this amount of activity as it exacerbated his lower back and right leg pain.
“The insurer doctors certified him as suffering from 36% whole-person impairment under AMA5 for his s66 lump sum claim.“
Nassir Bechara
Our Approach
He consulted us to assist with his worker’s compensation rights under the law.
According to our client’s doctors, sleep disturbance was likely to remain unchanged unless his pain can significantly improve. It was determined by the sleep doctor that he was suffering from 15% whole-person impairment due to sleep arousal disorders arising from his work injury. It was also determined by the insurer doctor said he was suffering from 25% whole-person impairment in relation to his lower back permanent impairment arising from his work injury.
Our client had a period of conservative treatment and management, and then two lower back decompression of the right L5 nerve root without significant improvement. He has not recovered and he continues to be symptomatic with regard to lower back and right leg pain.
His lower back injury has resulted in a significantly reduced capacity for him to participate in normal social, domestic, recreational, sporting and employment activities. The insurer doctors certified him as suffering from 36% whole-person impairment under AMA5 for his s66 lump sum claim.
As a result, he became a higher-needs worker.
The insurer has assumed their obligations for his ongoing weekly payments due to his work incapacity, reasonable and necessary medical treatment expenses, and domestic care and assistance for the rest of his life. The injured worker was very satisfied with this outcome as it protects him now and into the future in terms of his worker’s compensation rights.
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The Result
The insurer has assumed their obligations for his ongoing weekly payments due to his work incapacity, reasonable and necessary medical treatment expenses, and domestic care and assistance for the rest of his life.
Nassir Bechara
Special Counsel
Frequently Asked Questions
More Information
If you have suffered an injury at work, or while making your commute to or from work, you’re entitled to workers compensation. This may seem like stating the obvious, but there are members of the public who are completely unaware of what accident compensation they are entitled to if anything were to ever happen.
The legal process for filing a workers’ compensation claim in NSW starts with gathering evidence, informing your employer (within three months) and filing a WorkCover claim. In most cases, the claim will be given to the Personal Injury Commission to achieve possible mediation before starting court proceedings. If some sort of an agreement is not reached, work injury damage claims are most often heard in the District Court.
The main differences between a workers’ compensation claim and a personal injury claim are:
- Personal injury claims must prove that the incident occurred and liability is involved.
- Workers’ compensation claims do not have to prove negligence.
- Personal injury cases allow for damages while workers’ compensation entitlements follow strict criteria.
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