A young Queensland worker who suffered back injuries in a dump truck incident, and then aggravated those injuries in another truck incident during her second day in alternative duties, has been awarded $1.4 million in damages.
Employers can get injured workers' doctors more interested in the return-to-work process in a number of ways, including by making it clear to doctors that they will be paid for their time, says a RTW expert.
An effective return-to-work process hinges on cooperation between injured workers' GPs and employer-appointed occupational physicians (OPs), but do the former doctors trust the latter?
The number of workers' comp claims lasting longer than two weeks has dropped "significantly" in South Australia in recent months, but the State's high premium rates won't fall without legislative reform, according to WorkCover SA chief executive Greg McCarthy.
A Tasmanian employer has saved thousands of dollars and improved productivity by engaging onsite doctors to treat injured workers, the annual Injury Management and Return to Work Conference has heard.
Jetstar has successfully defended an injured worker's unfair dismissal claim, but a Commissioner found it "should have done better" during the dismissal process by, for example, providing all relevant information to the worker's medical assessor.
Qantas has failed to convince the Fair Work Commission that an injured worker's unfair dismissal claim was invalid because he had already successfully disputed his RTW plan under state law.
Injured South Australian workers will have access to common law damages under the proposed overhaul of the State workers' compensation scheme, according to a new policy statement, which also promises much lower premiums for employers.
