Everyone desires to work in a workplace where they feel valued and respected. Everyone hopes to work in a workplace where they are given equal opportunities, where achievements are recognised and where voices are heard. However, that is not always the case. Workplace bullying and harassment can cause a lot of psychological injury and harm. During this difficult period of immense anxiety and stress, let our team at Alliance Compensation & Litigation Lawyers assist you.
What am I entitled to as an injured worker?
An injured worker with a psychological injury is entitled to the following under the workers compensation scheme:
- Payments of reasonable medical expenses incurred as a result of the work-related injury, i.e. your consultations with your psychologists and psychiatrists are covered by the insurer and your travel expenses going to and from medical appointments are paid for by the insurer.
- Weekly compensation payments during your periods of incapacity, i.e. as you are suffering from workplace bullying and harassment, you may not be able to return to work and work in your usual capacity. However, you still need to maintain a living and pay for living expenses, hence the insurer will be able to pay you weekly payments to assist you during your periods of incapacity.
- Lump sum compensation claim if your level of impairment is at least 15% whole person impairment. However, to determine whether your level of impairment is at least 15% whole person impairment, you will need to be assessed by a qualified psychiatric assessor under the NSW workers compensation scheme. The assessor will give a scoring under the psychiatric impairment rating scale (PIRS) which includes the following categories:
- Self-care and personal hygiene;
- Social and recreational activities;
- Travel capability;
- Social functioning and relationship with others;
- Concentration, persistence and pace; and
- Employability.
These categories assist the assessor to determine the severity of your psychological injury. For example, is your injury so severe that it impacts on your ability to maintain your own personal hygiene? Are you no longer able to partake in social and recreational activities and maintain relationships with others? Are you able to obtain work anywhere, not just with your current employer? A lot of factors are examined by the psychiatric assessor and your level of whole person impairment and eligibility for a lump sum compensation claim will be determined.
The threshold for psychological injuries is high and depending on the severity of your psychological injury, your workers compensation rights and entitlements may change. However, let our experienced staff at Alliance Compensation & Litigation Lawyers assist you with obtaining your workers compensation rights during your stressful period. No one wants to be named a victim of workplace bullying and harassment, but as a victim, you need to obtain what you are rightly entitled to as an injured worker who has been injured during your employment. Contact our friendly staff who will be with you through every step of your workers compensation claim.
