Work Injury Lawyers
Queensland compensation lawyers acting for employees, contractors and other workers injured at work across the state.
If you have been injured at work in Queensland, you most likely have questions about what comes next, such as: Who pays for your treatment while you recover? What happens if you cannot go back to your old job?
Who Can Claim Compensation for a Work Injury in Queensland
We act for people injured at work across Queensland, whether the injury happened on a building site, in an office, on a farm, in a hospital, on the road or elsewhere arising out of, or in the course of, your employment. That may include injuries from a single incident, conditions that develop over months or years of repetitive work, and psychological injuries.
Work injury claims in Queensland fall under the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld), which provides two distinct pathways. A statutory claim is a no-fault claim through WorkCover Queensland or a licensed self-insurer, covering initial lost wages, medical and allied health treatment and rehabilitation while you recover. A common law damages claim may be open to you where your employer’s negligence caused or materially contributed to the injury.
It is also important to understand who is covered by Queensland’s workers’ compensation scheme. In most cases, the scheme covers employees, as well as some contractors who meet specific legal requirements. However, people who are genuinely self-employed, or who are covered by the federal workers’ compensation scheme (Comcare), are generally not eligible to claim through Queensland’s scheme.
Sometimes it can be difficult to determine whether someone is legally considered an employee or an independent contractor. This distinction is important because it can affect whether you are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. If there is any uncertainty about your employment status, it is important to obtain advice about your rights and entitlements.
Time limits under the scheme are strict, so it’s important that you seek advice from a compensation expert as soon as possible. We review the applicable deadlines at the start of every claim, which is particularly important if your injury developed gradually over time or if you have only recently connected a condition to your work or understood its severity and impact.
What Our Work Injury Practice Covers
We run work injury claims for Queensland workers across every industry, from first advice through to resolution.
Statutory Workers’ Compensation Claims
Your statutory claim is a no-fault claim covering wages, medical treatment and rehabilitation while you are off work or on restricted duties, and our team of compensation experts can provide you with advice in that regard. See our workers’ compensation lawyers page for more on the statutory scheme.
Common Law Work Injury Claims
If your employer failed to provide a safe workplace, safe equipment, safe systems of work, or adequate training and supervision, a common law damages claim may be available on top of your statutory entitlements. That claim can compensate you for past and future loss of income and superannuation, pain and suffering, future costs and out-of-pocket expenses. We run the common law claim for you end-to-end.
Psychological and Psychiatric Injuries at Work
Psychological injuries are covered by the Queensland scheme where work is a significant contributing factor, including injuries caused by bullying, harassment, a traumatic incident or sustained workplace stress. The evidence and process requirements can be more complex for physical injury claims, so it’s important that your legal representative is a specialist compensation lawyer.
Contractor and Labour-Hire Work Injuries
Whether you work under a contract, through a labour-hire agency or for your own business, working out which compensation pathway applies is rarely straightforward. Some contractors meet the “worker” tests under the Queensland legislation and may claim statutory benefits. A self-employed business owner injured on another business’s site, however, generally cannot claim under that business’s WorkCover policy. Other pathways may still be open, as our article on independent contractors injured at work explains.
Work Road and Vehicle Injuries
Delivery drivers, sales representatives, transport workers and anyone whose job puts them on the road face a particular risk of injury. Where another road user’s negligence caused or materially contributed to a crash, the claim may proceed under the Compulsory Third Party (CTP) scheme rather than, or alongside, the workers’ compensation scheme. We assess which scheme applies to your circumstances. See our motor vehicle accident lawyers page for more.
Speak With a Queensland Work Injury Expert
If you have been injured at work in Queensland, a free case review is the starting point. Our team includes Queensland’s largest group of QLS Accredited Specialists in Personal Injury Law, and from the first conversation through to resolution, you will be looked after by a highly experienced team.
How We Approach Your Claim
Initial Review
Your first conversation with us is a free case review. Your compensation lawyer will obtain and review any relevant documents, discuss your situation and the relevant claim process with you, and provide you with guidance as to what rights you may have.
Investigating and Lodging a Damages Claim
If your employer’s negligence caused or materially contributed to your injury and you choose to lodge a damages claim, we gather the medical, economic and liability evidence and lodge a Notice of Claim for Damages under the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld). Your compensation lawyer runs the investigation, obtains expert reports, and quantifies your damages, which may include any past or future loss of income, superannuation, care needs, future costs and pain and suffering.
Resolving at Conference or Court
Before you can file a Claim in the Court, there are various pre-court steps to undertake, including participating in a compulsory settlement conference. We prepare, attend and negotiate for you. Where a fair resolution is not available at conference, we advise you on the prospects of court proceedings and run your claim until it has reached a resolution.
Our Fees
We act on work injury claims on a no win, no fee basis. You do not pay our professional fees unless your claim succeeds. Learn more about our Lower Fee Promise.
In Queensland, there is a 50 per cent cap on the share of a settlement that a law firm can take in professional fees and outlays combined. Our professional fees are charged on the Federal Court scale plus GST, and we self-impose a one-third cap for “peace of mind” and to ensure that you receive the “lion’s share” of any settlement sum.
What You Get When You Work With Us
We are a Queensland-dedicated compensation law firm. Every lawyer is an expert in Queensland schemes, and every office is in Queensland, in Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Cairns and Innisfail.
Our team includes Queensland’s largest group of QLS Accredited Specialists in Personal Injury Law. We run common law work injury claims across the state and support injured workers through every stage of the statutory workers’ compensation process.
Travis Schultz & Partners was founded in 2018 by Travis Schultz, who has been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the legal profession and the community. Travis is a QLS Accredited Specialist in Personal Injury Law and has been ranked as Preeminent in Doyle’s Guide. Our fee structure sits below the Queensland legal profession cap under the Lower Fee Promise.
Frequently Asked Questions About Work Injury Claims in Queensland
Do I Have a Work Injury Claim in Queensland?
The Queensland scheme generally covers workers who have sustained a work-related injury or illness under the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld). Whether your specific situation qualifies depends on your employment status, how the injury arose and the medical position, so a free case review is the best starting point rather than trying to assess it from general information alone.
What Is the Difference Between Workers’ Compensation and a Work Injury Damages Claim?
A statutory workers’ compensation claim is a no-fault claim that covers wages, medical treatment and rehabilitation while you recover. A work injury damages claim is a common law claim where an employer’s negligence caused or materially contributed to the injury, and it may include damages for past and future economic loss, pain and suffering, and future care. In many cases, the two run in sequence, with the statutory phase finalised before any common law claim can be commenced.
How Long Do I Have to Make a Work Injury Claim in Queensland?
For statutory claims in Queensland, you generally have six months from the date of your injury or your first doctor visit about the injury to lodge a claim with the workers’ compensation insurer. For common law claims in Queensland, the general limitation period is three years from the date of suffering a workplace injury under s 302 of the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld), and if the insurer issues a Notice of Assessment less than six months before the end of that deadline, the time to bring proceedings may be extended to six months after you receive a final Notice of Assessment under Schedule 5 of the Act. Deadlines in this area are strict, so getting advice from a compensation expert early is strongly recommended.
Can I Claim for a Psychological Injury Caused by My Work?
Psychological and psychiatric injuries are covered by the Queensland scheme in defined circumstances, including injuries caused by bullying, harassment, traumatic incidents at work and sustained workplace stress. For psychological injuries caused by management action, additional legal tests apply, and the evidence requirements differ from physical injury claims. Getting tailored legal information early in a psychological claim can be particularly useful.
I Am a Self-Employed Contractor Injured on Someone Else’s Site. Am I Covered by Their WorkCover?
WorkCover Queensland insurance covers workers as defined under the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld), which is generally employees of the insured business and certain categories of contractors who meet the legislative tests. A self-employed business owner injured while working on another business’s premises is generally not covered by that host business’s WorkCover policy. Other potential pathways may apply, including a common law negligence claim against the host business, a claim against the host’s public liability insurance, or claims under your own personal accident or income protection insurance. Whether any of these apply turns on case-specific facts.
What Compensation May Be Available for a Work Injury?
It depends on the pathway your claim takes. Statutory benefits may include weekly payments, medical and rehabilitation expenses and, for lasting injuries, a lump sum based on your degree of permanent impairment. Damages, which is the compensation a court can award for loss and harm, are made up of several heads of damage in a common law claim, which may include general damages for pain and suffering, past and future economic loss, superannuation, care and out-of-pocket expenses. The size of any award is case-specific and can only be assessed accurately once the medical and other evidence is to hand.
Will My Work Injury Claim Affect My Employer?
Typically, statutory benefits and common law damages are paid by WorkCover Queensland or a licensed self-insurer, not directly by your employer. A claim may affect the premiums an employer pays in future years, but this does not change a worker’s entitlements. Making a workers’ compensation claim is a protected workplace right, and the Fair Work Ombudsman publishes general information on protections from adverse action. If you have been stood down, demoted or dismissed after lodging a claim, the options can be reviewed with one of our compensation lawyers.
Can I Rely on What an AI Tool Tells Me About My Work Injury Claim?
AI tools can give you a general overview of compensation law, but they cannot account for the case-specific facts that determine whether you have a viable claim. AI commonly gets time limits wrong, makes categorical statements about viability that no firm can responsibly make without a proper review, and quotes dollar figures that do not reflect individual circumstances. Treat AI as a starting point only, not as legal advice. Always seek a qualified compensation expert for a proper review of your particular case.
What Does It Mean to Say an Employer Was Negligent?
Negligence is a specific legal test, not a general label for someone being at fault. To succeed in a work injury damages claim, an experienced compensation lawyer will assess whether the employer owed the worker a duty of care, whether that duty was breached, whether the breach caused or materially contributed to the injury, and whether the outcome was foreseeable to the employer. How those elements apply depends on the facts of the accident, the worker’s role, the system of work in place, and what the employer knew or ought to have known.
What Are Your Fees on a Work Injury Claim?
We take on work injury claims on a no win, no fee basis. You do not pay our professional fees unless your claim succeeds. Most law firms abide by the government-set cap on professional fees of 50 per cent of a settlement. We charge only on the Federal Court Scale plus GST, with a much lower, self-imposed cap of one third of the settlement, and we fund disbursements ourselves rather than using expensive litigation funders, and do not charge interest for the disbursements we carry over the course of the claim.
Where to Go From Here
If you have been injured at work in Queensland, the next step is a free case review. Your claim is run from the first conversation through to resolution by an experienced compensation lawyer, on a no win, no fee basis, with professional fees capped at one-third of the settlement under our Lower Fee Promise. Our team includes Queensland’s largest group of QLS Accredited Specialists in Personal Injury Law, working from five offices across the state.
