By the Tindall Gask Bentley Workplace Law Team
Effective 1 April 2009, significant changes to the way a worker's entitlements to lump sum compensation for permanent disability are assessed, took effect.
Previously a worker's injured body part was assessed in accordance with the Third Schedule of the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act with a formula then being used to calculate an entitlement to compensation. That assessment was made by either an independent doctor or a treating doctor.
Since the changes, assessments of permanent disability are now only able to be made by Accredited Assessors who have been trained under the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, Fifth Edition. Furthermore, the assessments that they make are now of "whole person impairment" (WPI). A threshold has been introduced meaning that a worker now needs to be assessed as having a 5% or greater WPI in order to qualify for compensation. Whilst the maximum compensation payable has increased to $400,000.00, an injured worker must be left with a 70% whole person impairment in order to qualify for that amount.
A No Disadvantage Test has also been introduced, whereby if a worker suffers a total loss of a particular body part and is assessed to receive less compensation under the new legislation than they would under the old legislation, then the worker should not be disadvantaged and should receive a further set amount of compensation. As very few workers suffer a total loss of an injured body part the Test is unlikely to be widely accessible.
The changes to lump sum compensation legislation make it imperative that injured workers seek legal advice in relation to their rights and entitlements.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
