What To Do After Hurting A Knee At Work: Getting Workers’ Compensation

Table of Contents

1. Reporting Your Injury
2. Workers’ Compensation for Knee Injuries
3. Benefits and Workers’ Compensation Lump Sums
4. How Workers Can Suffer Knee Injuries
5. Reasons Why Workers’ Knees are Injured
6. Compensation an Injured Worker Can Claim for a Knee Injury
7. When You’re Likely to Receive Benefits for a Knee Injury
8. Knee Replacements and Other Artificial Aids
9. A Case History

Reporting Your Injury

If you sustained a work-related knee injury in New South Wales, you must report your injury to your employer as soon as possible so they can inform their workers’ compensation insurer. Injured workers who suffer severe knee injuries should seek medical treatment and tell their doctor what happened and where it occurred, and ask them to fill in a Certificate of Capacity form for a workers’ compensation claim.

The certificate is important since it records the injured workers’ doctor’s initial medical treatment and opinion, and that the injury was sustained in a workplace accident or incident while working for their employer. This is crucial if a serious knee injury workers’ compensation claim is necessary.

Workers’ Compensation for Knee Injuries

If this is you, and you have sustained a knee injury, the next most important step is to call PK Simpson and talk to a personal injury lawyer about your knee injury and whether you may be eligible for workers’ compensation. You can book an appointment with us and bring your Certificate of Capacity and any other documentation relevant to your knee injury claim so we can help you claim workers’ compensation.

Our personal injury and workers’ compensation lawyers can help you complete a Work Injury Claim Form and arrange medico-legal appointments with doctors to assess and support you to claim workers’ compensation for your knee injury. If your injury was due to employer negligence you may be able to make a common law claim for damages.

Benefits and Workers’ Compensation Lump Sums

Depending on the severity of your work-related injury, how and where it happened, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits to cover medical expenses related to your workplace injury, lost wages to recoup some of your lost income, domestic assistance, pain and suffering compensation and a lump sum payment. The insurer will pay your weekly wages and medical expenses whilst you are injured. We will make sure your full entitlements are respected and enforce that with the insurer. Injuries assessed with a Whole Person Impairment (WPI) of 15 per cent are entitled to make a Whole Injury Damages / Common Law Claim for a lump sum payout of future and past economic loss. Do not delay in submitting a work injury claim or seeing your GP.

How Workers Can Suffer Knee Injuries

Knees are easily injured in a fall, a collision, or when twisted in ways incompatible with the knee joint or due to stress over time. Workers can injure their knees in slip-and-fall accidents or other mishaps at work, in a car accident driving to and from work, or away from the factory or office on work-related business. Tendons and meniscus tearing, ligament strain and patella-femoral pain syndrome are common work-related knee injuries that can be the subject of a compensation claim for a knee injury.

Reasons Why Workers’ Knees are Injured

According to iCare, most workplace injuries occur due to unsafe work practices, diverted attention, and inadequate training. Employers are responsible for ensuring their staff have the proper training and equipment, confidence and knowledge before allowing them to work with heavy machinery or in environments where their health could be at risk. Your employer has an obligation to provide a safe working environment and safe work practices for all employees to lessen the chances of workplace injuries.

Compensation an Injured Worker Can Claim for a Knee Injury

If you suffered an injury to your knee (or knees) at work, our workers’ compensation lawyers at PK Simpson can help you with a claim for workers’ compensation benefits and these may include:

• Weekly payments: Depending on your capacity for work after your knee injury and on your average earnings.
• Medical expenses: Your treatment expenses for general medical care associated with your knee injury, plus any psychology, physiotherapy, equipment and surgery if necessary.
• Lump sum payments: If your Whole Person Impairment (WPI) is assessed as 11 per cent or greater for a physical injury you will receive a payment under s66 Workers Compensation Act 1987. For psychological injuries the threshold is 15% or higher.
• Domestic help: Throughout your claim. We help get this approved.
• Common law: If your injuries meet the 15 per cent WPI threshold you are entitled to make a common law claim.

You should expect to receive a reply from your employer’s insurer within seven days from the date your Work Injury Claim Form was submitted. If the six-month time limit has passed and you have suffered a knee injury at work, don’t give up, call our personal injury lawyers at PK Simpson because you may be able to lodge a claim, depending on your circumstances. There is a three-year time limit to begin court action for a work injury damages claim for a payout rather than benefits if your injuries are assessed as 15 per cent WPI or greater.

When You’re Likely to Receive Benefits for a Knee Injury

Providing your knee injury happened at work or while away from the office, factory or other workplaces, your provisional payments can start within one week. These weekly payments are usually decided within 28 days of lodging your work injury compensation claim form unless the insurer denies liability.

You can claim a lump sum compensation entitlement after your injuries have reached maximum medical improvement. This is typically six months from the date of your injury or from the last date of any surgery or invasive treatment, whichever is later. Your lump sum is usually paid out after the process is finalised, depending on the insurer agreeing with assessments made – this may be within 18 months.

Knee Replacements and Other Artificial Aids

In cases where an injury is sustained at work but doesn’t result in an immediate disablement but deteriorates over time, workers may still be able to make a worker’s compensation claim no matter how long ago the injury occurred. And the same applies if the injury results in the necessity of knee replacement surgery. This was not the case until 2018 and a landmark ruling in the NSW Court of Appeal.

A Case History

At PK Simpson, our personal injury professionals have helped countless workers who have injured their knees either in the workplace or while performing their duties or tasks. For instance, we acted for a woman called Sarah (not her real name) who slipped on an oil spill while she was working in the kitchen at a Sydney restaurant. Her knee was twisted and bruised, and there was significant soft tissue damage which meant she couldn’t work for six weeks. She reported the accident and sought medical treatment and physiotherapy for her work-related injury.

Sarah made a workers’ compensation claim and was granted workers’ compensation benefits and her knee seemed to get much better. But in the months afterwards, it became harder for her to bend her knee and walking was so painful she was referred to an orthopaedic surgeon who recommended a total knee replacement.

The doctor examining Sarah found that after maximum medical improvement, she had a WPI of over 15 per cent since she required major knee surgery. She claimed a lump sum settlement workers’ comp payment for her personal injury in the hundreds of thousands. She was also entitled to and won benefits including weekly earnings and medical expenses, reimbursement for the time she had to take off from work for her surgery and rehabilitation.

If you or someone you know has suffered a knee injury at work and believe you may be entitled to make a workers’ compensation claim, contact PK Simpson on 1300 411 596 or book an appointment to come in and have a chat with one of our personal injury lawyers.

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• Work Injuries
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