Workers compensation

If you have been injured at work, you may be entitled to workers compensation.

A work injury also covers injuries when you are on a break in your work or attending training or business-related travel.

The NT workers compensation scheme is quite complex, and we regularly encounter workers who have had claims unlawfully rejected, or whose claims have been accepted but only receive part of their total entitlements.

The NT’s workers compensation scheme provides five basic entitlements for injured workers:

Loss of earning capacity payments (‘weekly payments’)
Medical and like expenses, and some travel costs
A lump sum payment for permanent impairment (that is, if a worker suffers a permanent change to their body or mind as a result of the injury)
Necessary home, vehicle and workplace modifications
Necessary household, and attendant care, services

The scheme also allows an injured worker and the insurer to settle the claim for a lump sum payment.

Ward Keller’s workers compensation lawyers can:

Advise workers whether they have a claim and their rights, entitlements and obligations
Advise workers on whether they can prosecute a claim that has been disputed
Negotiate with insurers about resolving their claims by a lump sum settlement
Deal with claims that remain disputed in the Work Health Court.

The workers compensation team at Ward Keller has particular expertise in this area and can help getting the claim back on foot or recovering short-paid compensation.

Workers might also have a look at the NT WorkSafe’s website on workers compensation, which provides useful general information about claims.

If you think you may be entitled to workers compensation, or your claim has been disputed, but you are not sure where or how to start, we can help.

We can also help if you have a work injury covered by the Comcare legislation or the Commonwealth military compensation.

Legal costs

Ward Keller offers its worker clients ‘no win, no fee’ costs agreements. This means that if you are not successful, then we will not charge you legal fees.

We talk to our clients about these costs at the very start, so workers know what we will charge them at the end of the matter.

Our workers compensation team can also help you:

Apply for legal aid funding for some parts of a claim
Apply to have some of the legal costs in helping workers at a mediation of a dispute paid for by the insurer
Obtain payment of legal costs from the insurer for assisting clients finalising a lump sum settlement of a claim