Answering common questions about the workplace injury ordeal
No one goes through their daily life expecting to get injured at work. No matter how physically demanding your job is, you never go in expecting something to go wrong. Injuries are jarring for this reason, and in the moment, it’s usually difficult to know how to respond.
If you get hurt on the job, your mind will surely be racing with questions. What do I do? Whom do I turn to? How do I recover safely? At Marshall and Gibson Lawyers, we seek to provide answers for all these questions and more, helping people overcome their workplace injury troubles without any major headaches. Here’s a rundown of a few key answers.
1. Will I have to miss a lot of work?
People tend to worry about how much work they’ll miss after an injury. Obviously these things vary, but according to the NSW State Insurance Regulatory Authority, most injured workers take little or no time off. More than 80 per cent of people that do miss work are back within 13 weeks.
These are just statistics, though, and there’s no guarantee that anyone is back that fast. To overcome an injury, you’ll need a team effort from everyone involved, including your employer, insurance company and any medical care providers who may need to weigh in.
2. How can my employer help me recover?
It’s common sense that employers have an obligation to provide a safe workspace for their employees. At a bare minimum, they should be keeping people out of unnecessarily risky situations, and providing adequate safety gear for when they are at risk.
Their obligations don’t end there, however. SafeWork NSW clearly delineates that when people do get injured, companies are also required to offer “return to work” programs with formal procedures in place for helping employees recover and get re-acquainted with their work.
3. What can a good lawyer do for me?
You might think that if you’re recovering from injury and your employer is cooperative, there’s no need for legal help, but that line of thinking omits one key detail: workers’ compensation benefits. If you’ve been hurt at work, you might be eligible.
The only way to find out is to talk to a lawyer and ask. There are all sorts of payments you might be eligible for, including wages for time off work and reimbursement for medical costs. To learn more, just contact the experts at Marshall and Gibson Lawyers and get a free case evaluation.