Work injury common law claim payouts QLD

To start a common law claim in Queensland, you’ll need to:

• Wait until your statutory WorkCover claim ends
• Elect to pursue damages for your work injury
• Serve a notice of claim for damages on WorkCover QLD or your employer’s self-insurer

We strongly recommend getting legal advice before responding to any paperwork or taking action, as your claim may be statute barred if mishandled.

Learn more about WorkCover claims here.

This is the formal first step in a common law claim. It:

• Notifies WorkCover or the self-insurer that you’re seeking monetary compensation
• Includes details about your injuries sustained, how your employer was negligent, and your medical evidence
• Starts the common law process

You should get legal help before serving the notice, to ensure your legal claim is valid and complete.

Several key factors influence the compensation amount you may receive in a common law claim:

• The severity of your injuries — including serious injuries, severe injuries, or a permanent injury
• Whether you can return to work, and your long-term earning capacity
• Your need for future medical needs or ongoing treatment
• The strength of your medical evidence
• The ability to claim damages for pain and suffering, medical costs, or income loss

All of these factors contribute to the final settlement or lump sum payout you may be entitled to. To pursue fair compensation, it’s essential to seek legal advice early and ensure you have expert support.

After your permanent impairment assessment, WorkCover QLD may make a lump sum offer. If you accept this offer:

• You usually lose the right to pursue a common law claim
• The offer reflects your assessed degree of permanent impairment
• It may not fully compensate you for things like future income loss or psychological injury

It’s important to seek independent legal advice before accepting. Once accepted, you cannot later commence legal proceedings for a common law payout.

In Queensland, there is a great deal of responsibility on an employer when it comes to workplace health and safety, and this responsibility cannot be delegated.

The standards of safety required to be met are quite high and relate to such things as:

• Providing a safe workplace;

• Implementing and maintaining a safe system of work;

• Providing safe and proper plant and equipment;

• Providing adequate and proper instruction, training and supervision;

• Performing adequate and proper risk assessments of the workplace and work systems.

If your employer does not meet these workplace health and safety standards and you have sustained your injury as a result of this, then you will have a Common Law Claim for damages against your employer. 

The Personal Injury Lawyers can assist you with your injury at work claim. Contact us today to speak with an experienced injury claim lawyer.

The common law process follows these steps:

• Serve a notice of claim for damages
• Participate in a pre-court settlement conference with WorkCover or the self-insurer
• If unresolved, you may commence legal proceedings

Most cases settle before trial, but complex claims (e.g. involving psychological injury or significant contributing factors) may take 12–24 months.

If you’re concerned about making an injury at work claim because you’re worried about your employer’s ability to pay damages, you’re not alone. However, most employers do not pay directly. Instead:

• WorkCover QLD or a self-insurer covers your statutory claim and common law compensation payouts

   

• Employers are insured to handle these costs

• You can claim damages without impacting your employer financially.

There are however some very limited cases in Queensland where an employer is what we call a “self-insurer”.

The main difference is fault: common law claims require you to prove your employer was negligent, while statutory claims do not.

Here’s how they compare:

Statutory Claim:

• No need to prove fault
• Provides fixed statutory benefits
• Covers medical bills, lost wages, and limited rehabilitation costs
• Paid through WorkCover QLD

Common Law Claim:

• You must prove negligence (e.g. employer failed to ensure safety)
• Potential for larger lump sum compensation payout
• Can include pain and suffering, future income loss, and psychological harm
• Can result in a more substantial settlement if you’re seriously injured

Both types fall under the Queensland workers’ compensation scheme, and many workers pursue a common law claim after finishing their statutory WorkCover claim.

Yes. Workers who suffer psychological harm or psychiatric injury caused by someone else’s negligence can make a common law claim. However:

• You must prove the employer’s negligence was a significant contributing factor
• The claim must pass a threshold test (e.g. permanent impairment rating)
• You’ll need strong medical records and supporting medical evidence

These claims are complex, so get legal representation early.

Once WorkCover QLD finishes its investigation and both parties gather evidence, your injury at work claim will progress to a settlement conference. This is your opportunity to resolve the matter early.

If your claim doesn’t settle:

• You may move to litigation, beginning with filing a claim and statement of claim
• You won’t go straight to trial — further steps like mediation may be required first

It’s best to have legal representation to guide you through this process and pursue the maximum compensation available.

Even if your claim was previously rejected, you may still have legal options:

• You can request a review of the decision (e.g. through the Medical Assessment Tribunal)
• You may be able to lodge a statutory WorkCover claim while preparing a common law claim
• In some cases, legal proceedings can still be initiated if time limits haven’t passed

Always speak with an experienced personal injury law firm to understand your rights and next steps.

No. Common law claims in QLD are not part of the “no-fault” system. To succeed, you must:

• Prove negligence – that your employer failed to take reasonable steps to prevent a workplace accident
• Show that this failure caused or contributed to your physical injury or psychological harm

Unlike statutory claims, common law requires evidence that someone else’s negligence led to your injury. Having a personal injury lawyer can help you build a strong case.

This is where an employer has established its own workers compensation scheme and meets any payments to injured workers they are obligated to pay under the Workers’ Compensation & Rehabilitation Act 2003, itself.

These self insurers have the same obligations in respect to workers’ compensation claims and Common Law Damages claims for work injury as Workcover Queensland.

There are only a handful of self-insurers in Queensland and they are restricted to the larger corporations operating in Queensland (e.g. Woolworths, The Toll Group, Arnotts etc). 

Our specialist work injury claim lawyers can provide legal advice and assistance if you have been injured at work and need to make a workers compensation claim against a self-insurer. 

This occurs when the worker receives a Notice of Assessment of their work injuries from Workcover Queensland. 

If you take the wrong step when responding to the Notice of Assessment, you could lose all rights to proceed with a Common Law claim for damages and miss out on significant compensation.

It is extremely important that you contact The Personal Injury Lawyers for assistance prior to taking any steps in response to the Workcover Notice of Assessment so this does not happen to you.

Many workers think that, unless there has been a statutory workers’ compensation claim for the injury, they cannot pursue a common law claim for damages.

This is incorrect.

A worker who has suffered injury in the course of their work is quite entitled to sue for damages for their work injury if it has been caused by the negligent act or omission of their employer, whether they have previously brought a workers’ compensation claim for the injury or not.

The Workers’ Compensation & Rehabilitation Act 2003 and associated Regulations govern the procedural requirements for bringing and pursuing a Common Law Claim for Damages, as well as the awards of damages in relation to work injury claims in Queensland.

Navigating the provisions of the Workers’ Compensation & Rehabilitation Act 2003 and Regulations can be quite complex and it is therefore important that you obtain legal advice with respect to what compensation entitlements you may have under such legislation.

If you have been injured at work and need help, The Personal Injury Lawyers will be able to provide you with assistance in this area.

The Court process encourages parties to try to resolve claims through Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) prior to moving to a trial.  If the parties agree, your work injury claim may proceed to a Mediation prior to the matter being set down for trial.

At the Mediation, an independent mediator will try to bring you and the workers’ compensation insurer (WorkCover or the self-insurer) to a fair and reasonable settlement of your claim.

There are also opportunities for the parties to try to resolve the claim through written offers being exchanged.

If you are unable to settle your claim at the Mediation, then your matter is set down for trial and proceeds to trial at the next available hearing date.

It can take from approximately 6 to 12 months before the initial settlement conference takes place.

The time it takes depends on the status of your injuries at the time of commencing your Common Law claim and the liability and medical investigations that the parties need to pursue before they are ready to proceed to a settlement conference. 

If your claim does not settle at the settlement conference, then the Mediation will usually occur within six to nine months of the initial settlement conference.  

If the mediation is unsuccessful, then your injury at work claim will usually be set down for hearing within approximately six to nine months of the Mediation, depending on the availability of hearing dates.

Once the hearing takes place, it can take a number of months before a decision is handed down.