Our client was 33-year-old man who was engaged to be married and lived with his fiancée. He was passionate about motor sports and anything to do with motor mechanics.
He worked in security in the position of Health and Security Assistant in a hospital.
Our client was requested to respond to jobs from clinical staff who required physical assistance with patients, who were either difficult to deal with or assist them in moving them when requiring personal care. Other duties were to take deceased patients to the mortuary for registration or provide immediate response to duress or fire alarms, including when a patient is violent or hostile. Our client also assisted in resuscitation of patients having cardiac arrest or who are unresponsive and restraining patients so they can be forcefully medicated.
Unfortunately, our client suffered psychological injury which arose because of exposure to trauma in the course of his employment, which was compounded by prolonged lack of support and assistance during overnight shifts at the hospital. He sought treatment while employed and was initially diagnosed with anxiety and depression.
He attempted to continue working, taking personal and sick leave to manage the condition, however his symptoms continued and worsened over time. Our client was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), compounded by a major depressive disorder and alcohol use disorder.
Our client sought advice from one of our expert personal injury lawyers with respect to his Workers Compensation claim. We obtained investigator statements, witness statements and other medical evidence on behalf of our client. Expert opinion reports on our client’s psychological injuries were obtained and all reports indicated that our client would not be capable of returning to work in the future.
A Medical Assessment Certificate was requested by the Personal Injury Commission and our client was assessed at greater than 20% whole person impairment. A lump sum claim was lodged, and our client was awarded a lump sum as his injuries were greater than 10% whole person impairment.
Our expert personal injury lawyers advised the client about lodging a claim for Work Injury Damages, also known as a common law claim. We informed him that to make a claim for Work Injury Damages, you are required to prove that:
- The injury resulted due to the employer’s negligence,
- You must have at least 15% whole person impairment with respect to a psychological injury,
- You must have already received all statutory lump sum entitlements.
Reports from suitably qualified experts were obtained about our client’s work environment to provide opinions as to whether:
- the employer was negligent for failing to provide Work, Health, and Safety training,
- the employer provided 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 appropriate offer, and our client was happy to accept the offer to resolve his claim.