If you suffered a workplace injury that was not the fault of your employer or colleagues, but a third party, it may be possible to make a workplace injury claim. Such claims can arise when a worker injured as a result of the actions of a host employer, or while working at their regular workplace with a negligent outside employee.
In such circumstances, you are able to bring a further claim against the negligent party in addition to your normal WorkCover entitlements. As with any other personal injury (excluding WorkCover) we can claim for your pain and suffering, economic loss, assistance provided to you by family members, and future expenses.
The time taken to finalise a claim against a third party will depend on how long it takes you to recover from your injuries. Your claim cannot be finalised until you have fully recovered or you have recovered as well as can be expected (in the opinion of your doctors). Once your claim has been finalised it can’t be changed, so it is important that your claim not be resolved until it is fully apparent what future suffering you may endure.
At the same time however, to fall within the statute of limitations, such a claim must be made within 3 years of the date of injury. This means that although you need not have finalised your matter within three years, you must have at least initiated proceedings before a court.