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Psychological injury lawyers

Start your free claim check

Not all workplace injuries are physical. If you've experienced psychological or mental health injuries at work, you may be eligible to claim workers' compensation. You may also be able to make a psychological injury claim if you have a pre-existing condition that worsened at work.

Our lawyers can help you at every stage of your psychological injury claim, with information, advice and support throughout the process in order to ensure that you receive the compensation you're entitled to. Contact our work injury lawyers today. 

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For QLD-specific information, please select QLD from the drop down menu at the top of the page.

Who can make a psychological injury or mental health claim?

You may be able to claim workers' compensation if events at work have had an impact on your mental health or emotional wellbeing. You may also be able to make a claim if you have a pre-existing psychological condition that worsened at work.
 

Am I eligible to make a psychological work injury claim? 

Workers eligible to claim workers' compensation for psychological injuries include:

  • full time workers
  • part-time workers
  • casual employees
  • subcontractors

If you're unsure whether you may be eligible to make a compensation claim, use our free claim check tool to find out. 
 

What types of psychological injuries can I claim compensation for?

Some of the most common symptoms of psychological trauma include:

  • stress
  • anxiety
  • depression
  • nightmares & loss of sleep

Symptoms of trauma can also typically include guilt, anger, fatigue, disorientation, poor concentration and social withdrawal.

As well as workplace incidents, you may also be able to claim work injury compensation for a recurrence, aggravation, acceleration, exacerbation or deterioration of any pre-existing psychological condition impacted by your work.

In some states you may be able to claim for psychological trauma sustained during a normal recess, such as lunchtime or morning and afternoon tea breaks.

Find out more about physical injuries and workplace diseases that you may be able to claim workers' compensation for. 
 

What are the time limits for making a psychological injury claim

Time limits for a psychological injury claim at work can vary under the different laws, depending on where you live. So it's important to seek legal advice as soon as possible. 

It’s also important that you report your trauma to both your employer and the workers’ compensation authority that covers you as soon as possible. It’s best to do this within 30 days of the incident or once you’ve become aware of your psychological injury or illness.
 

What psychological injury compensation and benefits can I claim?

The compensation and benefits you may receive from a psychological injury claim depend on (the severity of) your injury, when it happened, the law you’re covered by and the state you live in.

How much you may receive will depend on your specific information. You may receive payments that are equal to a percentage of your weekly earnings and for all reasonable medical and associated expenses. You can claim a lump sum if the injury has caused permanent impairment.

More frequently asked questions about compensation

Workers' compensation covers all 'reasonable' expenses such as:

  • medical, hospital and nursing
  • personal, household and occupational
  • doctors and chemists
  • physiotherapy and chiropractic care
  • rehabilitation
  • ambulance services

Your workers' compensation authority may also approve payment for:

  • attendant care
  • modifications to a home or car
  • home help
  • transportation costs

Our lawyers can advise you on what you're able to claim and will ensure you get all the benefits you're entitled to. Get in touch. 

In addition to workers' compensation for your mental injury, you might also be entitled to claim from your superannuation insurance policy:

Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) benefits

You may be eligible for a TPD compensation claim if you’re unable to do your normal job or any other work related to your training and experience.

Income protection benefits

Income protection claims provide you financial support when your mental injury is holding you back from earning income from your regular job.

Death benefits

Death benefits are paid to a surviving partner, children or dependants, or to the deceased’s estate.

Read more about superannuation claims. 

If your mental injuries are (fully or partly) the fault of your employer or any other person, you may also be able to claim additional compensation under common law. Whether you're entitled to this claim depends on the state in which your work injury occurred. Time limits and complicated rules apply.

Common law claims usually include financial support being claimed for:

  • pain and suffering
  • past and future loss of earnings or loss of earning capacity
  • past and future loss of superannuation contributions.

Preparing to make a psychological injury claim 

Before you make a claim, there are a couple of things you need to prepare to ensure the process runs smoothly. 

Key things to prepare:

  1. Make sure you've reported your psychological injury to your employer. 
  2. Obtain a medical certificate. In most states this is called a WorkCover medical certificate, which you can obtain from your usual doctor. 
  3. Lodge a worker's injury claim form. This is a standard form which you can obtain from your employer, from your workers' compensation insurer, or we can provide you with the form upon request.

Make sure to keep copies of both the claim form and the medical certificate before you give the originals to your employer or workers' compensation insurer. 

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No win, no fee* psychological work injury claims

Our 'no win, no fee*' policy means that if we don't win, you don't have to pay our legal fees. 

Learn more

Process for making a claim

Our work injury lawyers specialise in psychological injury and mental injury. We will assist you with your claim and make sure you know about your rights and entitlements.

We'll keep you informed throughout the whole process and provide you with legal advice that is easy to understand.

Get in touch

01

Find out if you have a claim 

Use our free claim check tool and find out in minutes. Our experienced work injury lawyers will review your circumstances to provide you with the the best advice. 

02

We’ll prepare your claim.

Our work injury lawyers who specialise in psychological injury and mental injury will take care of the legal process on your behalf. You will be kept informed of all stages along the way, including what fees are payable. 

03

Receive payment.

If your psychological injury claim is successful and damages are awarded, we'll process your payment as soon as we receive it.


  • 'It’s been good to know that… financially, the damage has been repaired…'

    Amanda's story

    Work related injury

    Learn more

    Amanda's story - Work related injury

    Post-traumatic stress disorder is, I think, it's very misunderstood. The little things that seem so insignificant to a bystander can actually take you straight back to that moment. I was in charge on a night shift with this particular patient, and he seemed perfectly fine before he decided to stab me. He stabbed me in the face, missed my eye by a centimetre and I sustained a fractured eye socket and a penetrating stab wound. I’ve lost that passion for my job. I do want, I hope eventually that I will go back to it, but I can't say with any honesty at this point in time that I will go back to hands-on nursing.

    I remember a conversation with Andrew, the first time I met him, and I went in and had a chat. And I just said, ‘should I even be doing this’? And I remember him saying ‘you 100 per cent need to let me do this with you’.

    Amanda was, when she first saw me, she was really struggling she. She was clearly impacted by what had happened.

    I just wanted to be heard, really. I wanted people to understand that the part that made me a good nurse was broken.

    These cases are always difficult. The insurer, again, in this situation behaved badly. They denied liability. They made measly offers, and it wasn't until we pushed right the way through to make sure that she got the compensation that she was entitled to.

    So it's been good to know that at least, in the regard of financially the damage has been repaired, yeah it's been good.


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