Personal Injury Law
Workers’ Compensation
In recent months, there has been an increased uptake in work-from-home arrangements resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. This shift in work environments has raised concerns over whether the NSW Workers’ Compensation Scheme continues to cover workers who have sustained an injury at home during work hours.
Fortunately, the obligation on employers to exercise a duty of care of ensuring the health and safety of their workers applies regardless of where the work takes place. Employees can therefore still be entitled to benefits under the Workers’ Compensation Scheme, provided they can demonstrate their employment was a ‘substantial contributing factor’ to the injury.
Ensuring the ‘health and safety’ of workers also imparts additional practical implications on employers, such as providing a working-from-home policy that clearly instructs how duties are to be performed safely, how potential health and safety issues should be reported and how the employer can inspect the home environment to ensure it is compliant with safety standards.
As at 21 April 2020, there have been a total of 170 workers’ compensation claims made related to COVID-19, according to the State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA). If you have been injured whilst working from home or are concerned your employer has not abided by their obligations, contact Antonela Josipovic today for a complimentary phone consultation on (02) 6648 7487.
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Until recently, injured motorists accessing statutory benefits under the NSW Compulsory Third Party (CTP) scheme were required to attend their General Practitioner every 28 days to obtain a completed Certificate of Capacity. Recent legislative changes mean this will no longer be required.
The State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) has made various changes to the Motor Accident Guidelines in response to the COVID-19 pandemic pursuant to the COVID-19 Legislative Amendment (Emergency Measures) Act 2020, to ensure injured persons are assisted in complying with their certificate obligations.
Part 4 (Evidence of fitness for work) of the guidelines now provides that individuals can have their medical appointments conducted via telephone or online, otherwise known as telehealth appointments. Except for the initial Certificate of Capacity, subsequent certificates can be completed by treating physiotherapists or psychologists and can be issued for longer than 28 days. These changes benefit individuals by not only minimising social contact requirements but reducing demand on NSW Health.
It is important to note that the appropriateness of telehealth services will need to be considered on an individual case basis. We therefore advise that you speak with your treating practitioner to discuss whether telehealth services are best for your particular circumstances. It is their responsibility to deliver services that adhere to professional conduct standards and the relevant professional and practice guidelines, with your safety and effectiveness of treatment being the main priority.
Medical Negligence
Australian healthcare workers have been at the forefront of combatting the spread of the novel Coronavirus. It is expected, however, that as we continue to flatten the curve, there will be a tremendous legal fallout as healthcare providers’ efforts to reduce the risk of spread fall victim to scrutiny.
Individuals, health care providers and other organisations could face liability in medical negligence for failing to take reasonable care to mitigate spread of the virus due to what they did or failed to do during the provision of medical services.
Given these types of claims are in their infancy, we are yet to confirm which, if any, circumstances would give rise to a successful action. The current state of the law in NSW provides that a healthcare professional will not be held liable if they acted in a manner that, at the time the service was provided, was widely accepted in Australia by peer professional opinion as competent professional practice. The issue with this standard is that determining what constitutes ‘competent professional practice’ in the context of a novel global health crisis needs refining. It may be that legislation is amended or introduced to address the operation of this standard of care in the context of Australia’s response to COVID-19.
This article is intended to be for information and educational purposes only and cannot be relied upon as legal advice. The information may not apply to your circumstances or to your particular situation. If you need specific advice or you have any questions, we welcome you to contact us directly.
