Common Workers Compensation Law Claims for Damages for Negligence
If your employer was negligent, and breached its duty of care to you, then you may have an entitlement to damages.
An employer can be negligent if they failed to take the appropriate level of care for your safety. Examples of when employers are negligent can include failing to provide training, not providing safety equipment, failing to warn you of danger, failing to perform risk assessments or requiring you to perform your work in an unsafe manner.
If you succeed in showing that the employer is at fault, then you can recover damages including amounts to compensate you for pain and suffering, past economic loss, loss of future earning capacity, superannuation on your economic loss, out of pocket expenses incurred, future expenses to manage the impact of the injury and any tax paid on your workers compensation payments.
In many cases, these common law damages will be larger than the lump sum offer that you receive when your statutory benefits claim closes.
It is important to get legal advice to allow you to make an informed decision on whether to seek common law damages or take the lump sum.