A Queensland labourer who was required to constantly twist his head to look behind him while operating plant has been awarded $265,000 in damages, after he sustained neck and psychiatric injuries.
The South Australian Government today will formerly introduce its workers' comp cancer Bill for career firefighters, which, unlike a nearly identical Greens Bill currently before Parliament, provides no cover for the State's 13,500 firefighting volunteers. Also in this article, Unions NSW has declared today "Fair Go for Workers' Compensation Day".
In a case involving a totally incapacitated worker whose weekly benefits were cut by nearly 70 per cent, Comcare has been advised by the AAT to shelve its new superannuation policy until it is properly tested at law.
A NSW worker has been awarded $1.3 million in damages for injuries sustained in a forklift incident, after the District Court found his employer and the forklift operator failed to ensure the vehicle was driven safely in a "tight working environment".
Workers' comp case studies provided by WorkCover NSW to the Government and the media in early 2012 - for the alleged purpose of "maligning" injured workers to justify overhauling the scheme - contained enough personal information to identify at least one of the individuals referred to, a tribunal has ruled in a privacy dispute.
Nominations for the 2013 work health and safety awards have opened in NSW. Also in this article, OHS Alert points readers to new safety alerts, publications and other resources from NSW, Western Australia, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania and the Commonwealth jurisdiction.
Employers that want to engage workers as independent contractors must make this very clear in written agreements, the Tasmanian WCT has ruled in a workers' comp dispute.
A Victorian worker who was subjected to passive smoking at work in the 1980s, and diagnosed with emphysema in 2010, has been given the green light by the Court of Appeal to sue her former employer.
The Federal Government's FWA Amendment Bill has passed through the House of Representatives, but its bullying provisions have been delayed for six months. Queensland workers' comp changes have also passed through Parliament.
