I’m heading into my 8th year without resolution. This is literally killing me. 7 IME’s, 2 impairment assessments 1 appearance at the Magistrates Court in front of the medical panel - all say the same thing. 2012 40% impairment reported. 2014 30% impairment reported. Dodgy no win no fee lawyer & insurance company didn’t tell me this. Insurer refused to pay and the claim I was told was put on hold until a percentage of impairment could be determined- yes it makes no sense because it had already been determined twice. Few years ago I started looking into things myself - was shocked at what I found. When I confronted lawyer - he did a runner and the firm dropped me. You see you need an impairment of 30% or more to lodge a common law claim. That’s the bigger settlement amounts and you can only proceed if you can prove negligence on the employers part. There is another avenue if you rated less than 30% but I’m afraid a personal injury solicitor will be too lazy to do this and won’t tell you about it. In addition to this if your injuries saw a drop of more than 40% in what you could earn if you weren’t injured then you can pursue a claim for loss of future earnings as well. In my case I worked in a specialised role, once injured there was no legal right of return to my former position, in 2011 I was earning a six figure salary. I couldn’t go back to my old career even if I wasn’t injured - I’m not qualified to do anything else. There was more than 40% decrease in my potential to earn a salary so I could claim loss of future earnings, my employer was negligent- all I needed was the 30% impairment determination. This is the reason. 30 years on a six figure salary is a large settlement- so they lied and got away with it because I only had 6 years to do this. My advice is don’t trust anyone - those no win no fee lawyers are only interested if the can make a quick easy buck and will rip you off. My life is hell. 8 years and I haven’t been compensated for what my employer did and I’ll never be able to work again. No one will care or do anything about it. I am on my own. I can’t get approval for treatment half the time. It’s like they are getting a sadistic pleasure. Because my case has become a twisted mess I can’t get another lawyer “due to the complexities I present with” it’s not financially viable for a law firm to take me on. If they think I’m gonna walk away and go live under a bridge they should think again. I can’t let them win this is my life.
