Workers Compensation for anxiety

[markrob0]

I was wondering if anyone else is going through Worker's Comp for anxiety/work related stress. My lawyer accepted me on a no win no fee & told me that I have high success rate.

I do security. I had problems with a co-worker. This co worker went ballistic on me over nothing. He was emotionally unstable. He is a Filipino, my wife is a Filipina. As I was walking away from him through the middle of the car park & for all people to hear him as he called me a racist. That arvo, my roster changed & was told that we have to share our rosters. Why should I lose hours? I was doing my best to keep my head down but once they changed the roster, it peeved me off. The next day the client of the site decided he didn't want this co-worker & he was removed. My roster went back to normal. I was told that I wouldn't have to work with him again.

Less than a week, he's back. 2nd day, first thing in the morning, he came up to me, put his finger in my face & said 'you are a  racist even you have a Filipina wife.' I was fuming that my company allowed this to happen - where was the duty of care? I contacted Operations, I was so pissed off I told Ops I'm leaving site under duress to prevent further baiting & provoking. Prior to me working there, two guys had a fight onsite for similar reasons & both lost their jobs. Apparently one was defending himself. What if this guy attacked me & I defended myself? I'd most likely lose my licenses no matter the outcome. ALL OF THIS ON PAPERTRAIL AND A LETTER THAT I WROTE TO THE COMPANY.

I went for a meeting the following Tuesday & was under investigation to be told that I will receive a First and Final written warning & will be placed back on a permanent on call basis, which is what I was did for 3 years prior. I FOUND 18 BREACHES IN MY CONTRACT.

In Mundaring we were placed in the bush, next to the dam to watch a boat. I wasn't shown a toilet. There was no phone reception & no welfare checks. It was winter then & was 2 degrees. 2 days later I found out that they were expecting me to use an outdoor toilet. I MADE COMPLAINTS BY BOTH EMAIL AND PHONE BUT NOTHING WAS FOLLOWED UP - PAPERTRAIL EVIDENCE.

Another site I was removed for complaining about a supervisor who ignored me, and guess what? It was the same manager who gave me the First and Final written warning. I HAVE ON PAPERTRAIL SHOWING THAT SHE IS REMOVING ME FROM SITE BUT NOT BASED ON MY WORK ETHICS.

Can any experienced person give some advise of the process?

Cheers.

[markrob0]

Hey Paul,

Great to hear from you again. My GP at first didn't want me to go ahead with it because he was concerned about my future when it comes to applying for jobs etc but after him seeing how stressed I was and with me telling him of the breaches on the contract along with our two years worth of records, he agreed. If I did nothing, I'd eventually quit without receiving any form of justice. I told him I'm taking a stand and want him in my corer for the fight. He began processing papers immediately and recommended that I get a no win no fee lawyer.

Did you have a good lawyer by your side? Were you denied liability after the waiting period?

I will stick around as I'm already growing fond of this site. Meeting likewise victims such as ourselves makes me feel a little better knowing that I'm not alone.

I hope you are coping with things better these days, Paul. Thanks heaps for your support, advice and kind words.

I WILL WIN THIS FIGHT - ALL OF MY ATTENTION IS GOING TOWARDS THIS BATTLE.

[Just Sara]

Hi again Mark;

I'm really glad you're in a positive mindset and have good support. It makes all the difference my friend.

I was a mess from 7 yrs of bullying/targeting including discrimination, found guilty of imaginary allegations without investigation and being punished, (thru Award Conditions) formally criticised and warned (by 3 very senior executives at once) for making formal complaints; all illegal. There's too much for me to describe here, but I'm sure you understand the effect it had on me.

When I fell apart, they did everything they could to make me quit, but I didn't. I slugged it out the best I could. My poor mind was shattered, so understanding and responding to their garbage as well as go thru the Insurance process, (which was of course denied) was a sad and terrifying task. They ended up medically retiring me which at least proves my illness existed.

My solicitor, GP, psychiatrist and psychologist all suggested I put it behind me and move on, as taking the insurers to court was a complex, costly and debilitating ordeal that would probably put me in hospital.

Ruminating for me was about the lack of closure and justice. It took me a couple of yrs to come to terms with things and heal my mind. I'm not as damaged as I once was so can see the forest for the trees at least.

It's been 2 and 1/2 yrs since I was retired and 3 and 1/2 since my last active roster. Solicitors won't touch my (insurance) case now as the law's changed - in favour of employers.

I do have another authority to appeal to but can't seem to find the mindset/courage to delve yet. Time frames are another issue, though my evidence and health would be taken into consideration.

Just a word about your recordings; you can claim you were recording your own voice for accuracy. I did this with a police officer who told me to turn it off as it was illegal. When I told her she walked away.

As I worked in a govt dept, there were other issues to take into account. Our Code of Conduct/Ethics changed over 7 yrs dramatically, but I printed out each one for safe keeping. Same with my Award Conditions and relevant policies.

Keep in touch ok. You never know; your progress may encourage me to find what's gungered-in and move on with my case.

Great talking with you;

Sez (Hugs)