At the time of the accident our client was working as a timber cutter. He would cut the timber from fallen trees into usable pieces for slabs, a process known as bucking. The pieces would weigh up to 50kg which he would physically lift. Once the pieces would be cut, our client would lift the wood into the tray of his utility vehicle or trailer and then put it in a stockpile on the property.
On the day of the accident, our client was cutting timber into 8-foot lengths using a chainsaw, slowly going down through the log. Our client had both feet on the ground and started cutting through a log, which was about 5-foot round. When he reached about two thirds of the way through a cut, he heard a crack. Unbeknownst to our client, the log had a hairline fracture down the middle of it, which he found out about later.
Part of the log released due to the internal fracture and the top part of the tree exploded outwards towards our client and knocked him to the ground, causing injury to his left shoulder. Our client was knocked unconscious and on waking up, his right leg was pinned underneath the weight of the log.
As a result of this work accident, our client suffered serious injuries to his right leg, a left shoulder fracture, multiple secondary surgeries, Complex Reginal Pain Syndrome, scarring, anxiety disorder, depression and has not been able to return to any form of work.
Claim
Our client was assessed at 25% whole person impairment by the Personal Injury Commission, and it was at this point our client sought advice from one of our expert personal injury lawyers with respect to preparing a claim for work injury damages, also known as a common law claim.
To make a claim for Work Injury Damages, you are required to prove that:
- The injury occurred due to the employer’s negligence,
- You must have at least 15% whole person impairment, which must be accepted by the insurer or by the Personal Injury Commission,
- You must have already received all workers compensation statutory lump sum entitlements.
Several reports from suitably qualified experts were obtained to provide opinions as to whether:
- the employer was negligent for failing to provide Work, Health and Safety training to the client,
- the employer provided a safe system of work, and
- sufficient training was provided to carry out the client’s job adequately.
A mediation was organised with the insurer where we provided the relevant expert opinion reports on liability, investigator’s statements, medical evidence, and income loss documents. Ultimately, the insurer made an offer and our client was happy to accept the offer to resolve his claim. As such, the matter was resolved at mediation and without the need to proceed to a District Court hearing and our client was extremely thankful.