When it comes to workers compensation, NSW legislation treats people who are left with psychological injuries very differently from those who suffer physical injuries. The RMB Compensation Division argues that this needs to change.
There has been a great deal of talk in recent years about the significance of psychological illness.
Much of that was generated around COVID lockdowns, but raising awareness about psychological illness and its consequences for the injured person and their family has long been a focus of great institutions such as the Black Dog Institute.
As is often the case, the law is slow to follow suit and recognise changes in community sentiment.
Treatment of people suffering from psychological illnesses is an example of this. There has been a significant failure by the NSW Government to keep pace with community sentiment and medical advancements and understanding of psychological illness or injury.
The failure can be illustrated in workers compensation cases where physical injuries and psychological injuries are treated considerably differently.
In physical injury cases an injured person needs to be assessed at 11% impairment before they become entitled to, usually, a small lump sum for permanent injury. In psychological injury cases the person needs to have an impairment of 15%.
An example of an injury being assessed at 11% in a physical injury case might be a person with a lower back injury involving nerve interference and usually requiring surgery.
To achieve meaningful compensation for psychological injuries, the injured person usually needs to be so impaired that they cannot properly care for themselves in terms of everyday tasks like showering or making their own meals.
They also usually suffer severe disruption with family relationships where periods of separation occur, they are too anxious to leave the house to go to an event and usually can't travel outside the local area for any reason.
To polarise matters even more, police officers and emergency services workers need to achieve 15% impairment before they get an entitlement to a small lump sum. These are the people that we send to the worst of scenes and expect the most of.
It's a sad state of affairs that current legislation fails to put psychological injuries on a level platform with physical injuries. Changing this could be achieved easily and it must happen, particularly for our police and emergency services workers who we expect so much of in our times of need.
If you have experienced psychological abuse or injury in the workplace, your first step should be to contact our office to arrange a free consultation. You can contact us by by phone or our 'Ask a Question' tool on our website.