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Common Law WorkCover Compensation
Common law claims are another type of compensation payment. These can amount to very large payments, certainly larger than lump sums paid under the impairment benefit scheme. Because negligence is a key factor in winning a claim, along with the seriousness of the injury, a common law action is effectively the act of suing an employer.
The payments are large at least in part because they take into account the severe nature of the injury and the impairment, the level of medical and personal care that will likely be required into the future, and the pain and suffering endured.
Cases can be prolonged, sometimes taking years to settle and sometimes needing to be contested in the courts. You need to have seriously good lawyers who are practiced in common law fights to be confident in the result, but the financial rewards are considerable. Pursuing legal actions through the courts can be a costly exercise, requiring the additional medical reports, hearings, barrister briefings, and negotiations with the insurance claims agents used by WorkCover. You should seek an experienced legal team which offers a watertight No Win No Fee policy, and preferably one which also covers you for expenses should your claim not be successful.
The important thing to understand is that the quality among law firms in the WorkCover Common Law field is extremely patchy. A quality law firm tries to spare the worker a costly and lengthy court process, and which has one of the highest success rates in the profession.
Our WorkCover Common Law compensation lawyers have initiated thousands of claims on behalf of clients and we have a high success strike rate among those cases that we represent. Of these successful cases, close to 80% are settled in mediation prior to going to court.
Ryan Carlisle Thomas uses highly experienced senior barristers to present our case as if we were presenting it in court and therefore aim and get a good result for our client early on without having to go to court.
For more information see: How Does a WorkCover Common Law Lump Sum Claim Work?
How big a common law payment? A rough guide
Note: these amounts are awarded for pain and suffering. Additional lump sums are often obtained for loss of earnings.
| Spinal Cord damage consisting of immobility in affected area (e.g. upper or lower limb): | $250,000 – to the maximum of $511,920 |
Back (surgery) |
|
| Spinal fusion surgery: | Good surgical result: $150,000 – $250,000 Poor surgical result: $250,000 – to the maximum of $511,920 |
| Discectomy surgery: | Good surgical result: $100,000 – $150,000 Poor surgical result: $150,000 – to the maximum of $511,920 |
| Laminectomy surgery: | Good surgical result: $100,000 – $200,000 Poor surgical result: $200,000 – to the maximum of $511,920 |
| Foraminectomy surgery: | Good surgical result: $150,000 – $200,000 Poor surgical result: $200,000 – to the maximum of $511,920 |
Common back conditions |
|
| Non-surgical back injury e.g. minor disc bulge or prolapse, with no nerve root impingement: | $100,000 – $200,000 |
| Spinal Stenosis: | $100,000 – $300,000 |
| Spondylolysis: | $100,000 – $300,000 |
| Spondylotic Myelopathy: | $250,000 – to the maximum of $511,920 |
Neck (surgery) |
|
| Cervical fusion: | Good surgical result: $150,000 – $250,000 Poor surgical result: $275,000 – to the maximum of $511,920 |
| Non-surgical neck injury e.g. minor disc bulge or prolapse, with no nerve root impingement: | $100,000 – $200,000 |
Other conditions |
|
| Mesothelioma: | $250,000 – $400,000 |
| Other respiratory conditions: | $80,000 – $400,000 |
| Loss of sight in one eye: | $175,000 – $250,000 |
| Psychiatric injury: | $100,000 – $200,000 |
| Head injury: | $150,000 – $400,000 |
| Shoulder injury: | $75,000 – $300,000 |
| Knee injury: | $75,000 |
| Paraplegia: | Likely to be the maximum of $511,920 |
| Quadraplegia: | Likely to be the maximum of $511,920 |
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