Our client was a father of four children who was physically fit, trained, ran every day and who loved playing soccer. He was hired as a labourer on construction sites, undertaking work as and when it was requested of him. His duties varied depending on the site location, however the work was very physical. No job training was provided, nor was he ever informed that any training was required.
On the day of the accident, our client was helping another worker move steel beams down flights of stairs to a job site below. Our client was guiding a 5m steel beam down the stairs with the help of another worker when he slipped and fell with the beam falling onto his head. As a result of the accident, he suffered an injury to his ear, cheek bone and head as well as psychological injuries.
Our client sought the assistance of our expert personal injury lawyers with understanding his rights and to assist him in lodging his Workers Compensation claim.
Reviewing the information provided by our client, our lawyers were able to assess that not only would he be eligible for a Workers Compensation claim but also had the potential for a successful Public Liability claim.
For his Public Liability claim to be successful, our lawyers had to prove that the organisation which contributed to his injuries, owed him a duty of care and that the duty of care was breached.
Our experienced staff assisted him in ensuring his Workers Compensation claim was accepted and expert opinion reports on our client’s injuries were requested and obtained along with all relevant employment records and treating medical practitioner records.
It was determined that his Whole Person Impairment rating exceeded the 15% threshold, therefore the following claims were discussed with him:
- a permanent impairment lump sum claim (governed under section 66 of the Workers Compensation Act)
- a public liability claim (governed under the general principles of common law and the provisions of the Civil Liability Act)
Our expert lawyers lodged both applications for our client and negotiations were entered into with our client being awarded a permanent impairment lump sum compensation.
As the permanent impairment lump sum claim had been awarded, we were then able to lodge a claim for Work Injury Damages, also known as a common law claim. Further reports from suitably qualified experts were obtained about our client’s work environment.
A mediation was organised with the various insurers regarding his Public Liability and Work Injury Damages claims, where we provided the relevant expert opinion reports on liability, investigators statements, medical evidence, and income loss documents. Negotiations were entered, and the insurers made an offer of more than $500,000.00. Our client accepted the offer and was happy with the settlement result to resolve his claims.