What is a Form 5 notice?

A Form 5 notice, otherwise known as a ‘notice to worker of intention to discontinue or reduce payments’ has the effect of allowing the insurer to legally stop your payments without further notice to yourself.

Please note that this blog is no longer relevant due to legislative changes that were enacted in 2020. We are often asked about how the workers' compensation system operated before this change and thought that it was appropriate to continue to host this blog for reference purposes. If you would like to learn about the legislative amendments that changed the workers' compensation termination date you can read about it here.

What is a 'Form 36 Notice to Worker About Termination Date for Election'?

If liability in your workers' compensation claim has been admitted, a Form 36 Notice to Worker About Termination Date For Election should be sent to you by your employer or their insurer. The purpose of the Form 36 Termination Date Notice is to inform you that, if you intend to make a common law damages claim, you must elect to do so prior to the Termination Date. The Form 36 Termination Date Notice is sent approximately 26 weeks before the Termination Date. 

A Termination Date sounds scary. What does it really mean?

Put simply, the Termination Date is the date, 12 months from the date on which the injured worker lodged their workers' compensation claim with their employer. Particular importance is placed on the Termination Date as it is the date by which you must elect to pursue a common law claim against your employer.

Contrary to common misconceptions the Termination Date is not:

• the date when injured workers that are receiving workers' compensation are terminated from their employment;
• the date when injured workers receiving regular workers' compensation payments have their payments cut;
• the date when a workers' compensation claim is settled or finalised; or
• the date by which all treatment in regards to a workers' compensation claim must be completed.

Workplace deaths – a background. 

Information on global workplace fatalities is not reported or collected in a standardised fashion. Formed in 1919 the International Labour Organisation (“ILO”) is an agency of the United Nations and attempts to bring together governments, employers and workers from 187 member states. The ILO maintains statistics on workplace injuries and fatalities but recognises that in many countries workplace accidents and deaths are significantly under-reported. In joint research between the ILO and a couple of Finnish universities it was estimated that in 1998 there were 350,000 workplace deaths across the world. This research found that Morocco was the most dangerous country to work in as it recorded 48 deaths per 100,000 workers. In more contemporary research the ILO found that in 2015 there were 38 deaths per 100,000 workers in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.    

Anatomy of the shoulder.

One of the most complex joints in the body, the shoulder provides nearly 360 degrees of motion. This high range of motion is, however, offset by the decreased stability of the joint which is prone to dislocation and traumatic injury.

Anatomy of the neck, spine, back and spinal cord.

In possibly the first historical mention of the spine and the spinal cord, Herophilus (325–260 BC), a Hippocratic physician working in the Alexandrian School of Medicine demonstrated that the cord was an extension of the hind brain and named it the ‘spinal cord’. Around 160 AD, while working as a physician for the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, Galen completed dissections and vivisection's that enabled the anatomical details of the vertebral column, spinal cord and nerve roots to be recorded. Galen described the cord as being like “a river rising from its source, extended from the brain, continuously sending forth a nerve channel to each of the parts that it meets, through which both sensation and motion are conveyed”.

Post-traumatic stress disorder – background.

Humans have been exposed to traumatic events throughout our evolution as a species. Unfortunately, the evolutionary process has not improved our ability to cope psychologically with exposure to extremely traumatic events. Here, it is fair to say that an attack from a sabre tooth tiger or being a first responder in a catastrophic car crash can elicit similar physical and psychological responses.   

During the First World War ‘shell shock’ became a significant medical and military issue and one that both the Axis and Allied armies struggled to treat. The British army, frustrated by the debilitating symptoms of shell shock, appointed Charles S. Myers, a medically trained psychologist to investigate the psychiatric impact of modern warfare. It has been argued that this early research was a precursor to the later development of post-traumatic stress disorder (“PTSD”) as a recognised psychiatric diagnoses.

Where did the Novel Coronavirus or COVID-19 come from?

On 31 December 2019, the World Health Organisation was first informed about a growing number of pneumonia cases being diagnosed in Wuhan City, China. At the time, the cause of these infections was unknown but it was believed that they were somehow connected to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market. On 1 January 2020 the market was closed down. On 7 January 2020 the Chinese government announced that a novel coronavirus had been identified as the cause of the infections.

Worrying trends in workers' compensation claims. 

Employers are required to meet many financial and legislative obligations in order to run a successful business. Prosecution results published by WorkCover WA suggest that employers are increasingly attempting a range of tactics to avoid the responsibilities imposed on them by the Workers' Compensation and Injury Management Act 1981 ("the Act").      

Many employees who have been injured or become sick at work are not aware that employers are simply not able to avoid their workers' compensation liabilities and risk significant fines, legal proceedings and conviction if they do.

Workers' compensation - what is it?

If you sustain an injury at work or suffer a work related illness you may be entitled to make a claim for workers' compensation. To make a claim you must be defined as a worker, however, the Act relies on a wide definition of the term 'worker' and includes full-time, part-time, casual and seasonal workers on a wage or salary. Workers' compensation includes payments for financial loss, treatment expenses, medical and rehabilitation expenses and travel and lodging expenses.

Background into the personal injury compensation industry.

In 1994, concerns regarding the cost of liability insurance coupled with growing perceptions that the law of joint and several liability was not being administered consistently, led the Commonwealth and NSW Attorneys General to commission an inquiry. The inquiry was conducted by Professor Jim Davis and one of its key recommendations was that the joint and several liability of defendants where negligence caused property damage or economic loss be replaced by liability which is proportionate to each defendants degree of fault.

Personal injury compensation and social security. 

Unfortunately some of us who suffer a personal injury at work, on the road or in a public place are injured so badly they are not able to return to work. Often these people rely on financial support from social security in order to sustain themselves into the future. Others may have been receiving some form of social security benefit prior to their personal injury occurring.

Many of these people are unaware that making a successful compensation claim and receiving compensation payments can have an impact on their eligibility to claim future social security benefits and can even result in a debt being owed to Centerlink.  

What is compensation?

The Social Security Act 1991 ("the Act") defines compensation as a payment that is provided in regards to lost earnings or lost capacity to earn resulting from a personal injury being suffered.  

The Department of Human Services notes that compensation can include:

• a payment of damages;
• a payment made under a scheme of insurance or compensation under a Commonwealth, state or territory law;
• a payment (with or without admission of liability) in settlement of a claim for damages or a claim under an insurance scheme;
• any other compensation or damages payment; or
• a payment under a sickness or accident policy.