Victoria Workers Compensation Claims – Need to Know facts 

Common law damages are separate to the benefits available to a person through the WorkCover No-Fault Scheme. 

A worker may have a common law right to damages (compensation) where a duty of care has been breached by an employer, or where an employer or other person has not complied with their legal obligations, and the worker has suffered a serious injury as a result.  

Employers are required to have workers compensation insurance for employees in their workplace. This insurance scheme covers: 

• Casual and permanent employees;  

• Full-time and part-time employees;  

• Self-employed workers; and 

• People deemed to be workers.  

The types of injuries covered include: 

• Injuries suffered at work, as a result of work or during work activities;  

• Diseases caused by work;  

• Pre-existing conditions or diseases aggravated by work;  

• Injuries suffered while travelling for work;  

• Injuries suffered while receiving medical treatment for a separate work injury; and 

• Psychological and stress-related injuries. 

To prove negligence, the injured worker must show that:  

• The defendant employer owed the injured worker a duty of care, meaning that the defendant employer was expected to take reasonable steps to look out for the injured worker’s safety; and  

• The defendant employer breached this duty of care owed to the injured worker, meaning that the defendant employer either did something that caused the worker’s injury, or failed to do something that could have reasonably prevented the worker’s injury. 

If a person can prove that they have suffered a serious injury as a result of an employer’s negligence, they can be entitled to compensation for:  

• Common law damages; 

• Medical and hospital expenses;  

• Loss of wages; and  

• Rehabilitation expenses.   

Factors that may impact the amount of compensation a person may be entitled to are mainly regarding the gap between the person’s predicted life path and their new life path after suffering the injury.