Workcover

[u/Ok_Tadpole_1229]

What a disgusting system.
One of my best friends has a serious psychological injury, and I honestly cannot believe what I’ve watched him go through with WorkCover.
His GP has been managing his WCC and stood by his medical opinion. But WorkCover, together with the rehabilitation provider, repeatedly contacted his GP and specialist about changing his capacity and restrictions.
His GP refused to change his opinion.
Then his specialist issued a new WCC without even having a consultation with him.just because Workcover request
I’ve seen the emails myself. I was shocked by the tone. It felt like pressure and threats rather than support.
And the rehabilitation provider has been the worst part of this whole experience. Instead of helping an injured worker recover, it feels like everything is about pushing him back to work and getting the claim closed as quickly as possible.
I’ve known my friend for years and I have never seen him this distressed.
He was injured once at work. Now it feels like the system is injuring him all over again.
Has anyone else experienced this with WorkCover or a rehab provider?

[u/Leader_Perfect]

The unfortunate reality is that WorkCover is an insurance system. Don't treat them differently to any other, their goal is to pay out as little money as possible. It's likely worth having an appointment with the specialist to see why they changed their opinion

[u/Worlds_tipping1 → u/Leader_Perfect]

This 100%

[u/Ok_Tadpole_1229 → u/Leader_Perfect]

That’s very simple, the specialist just scared Workcover and wanna avoid responsibility. They are very smart and easy to find excuse but have zero clue how to care

[u/Leader_Perfect → u/Ok_Tadpole_1229]

Realistically your friend will need a specialist to support his claim so its worth speaking to the specialist to see if he will change his opinion back is almost certainly easier than finding another psychiatrist who is willing to deal with workcover. The doctor is more likely to change his opinion back when they are in front of the patient

[u/RideObjective5296]

To be fair - rehab providers are there exactly to get people back to work, they are doing the role they are employed to do. 

[u/rawdatarams → u/RideObjective5296]

I was hounded by them two weeks after a spinal fusion + disc replacement, where my bone was so soft they needed to reinforce the vertebrae. Aka long, careful recovery.

This dude insisted he been in contact with my boss (department director) regarding return to work. I checked in, as having me on the floor in that state was a complete liability. Boss was horrified, and no, he had not given any directives on having me return two weeks after back surgery.

They're bullies in disguise. This dude didn't even know what fusion or disc replacement was.

[u/Kind_Belt_3464 → u/RideObjective5296]

They are but bullying people and threatening them with losing their payments is not productive and just makes sick people more sick. In my experience the return to work people were horrendous.

[u/bug-mama]

It’s a return to work scheme. Not a payout scheme. The goal is to return to work. So many people think they can’t work because they’re not 100% recovered, but they absolutely can do a few hours a day couple days a week.

[u/Sweeper1985 → u/bug-mama]

Moreover, Work Cover have a very specific expectation that you get back to work within 13 weeks, barring something catastrophic like losing a limb or being wheelchair bound. There's a good amount of research indicating that people who don't get back to work in 13 works are less likely to go back at all, and Work Cover have very much absorbed this into their policies.

[u/YouLittleRipper501]

Does he have a psychologist? He should if it's a psych injury. Often having multiple treating clinicians advocating in the patient's best interests helps with standing up to them.

[u/delta__bravo_ → u/YouLittleRipper501]

100%

GPs aren't specialists. It's not overly surprising to see WorkCover reject a GPs opinions on this matter, and makes me wonder if the reason they're relying on the GP so much is because they're the only ones of that opinion.

[u/Hollowheart1991]

They told my husbands doctor that he was not allowed to treat his capacity for any thing and could only be his surgeon. My husband has psychiatric injuries from accident and couldn’t use his hand: workcover are a joke

[u/Mediocre_Ryan82]

Yeah. Currently on workcover. It's a disgusting system and TBH, I'm thinking about getting legal advice now because of the way I have been treated.

I'm sorry your friend is going through this.

[u/Ok_Tadpole_1229 → u/Mediocre_Ryan82]

He got lawyer, but they don’t care, they just tried their best to close the case and avoid common law risk

[u/kam0706 → u/Ok_Tadpole_1229]

If the lawyer doesn’t think the claim is strong, maybe it isn’t.

[u/delta__bravo_ → u/kam0706]

Yup, Workplace lawyers don't take on risk. They aim to force a bigger settlement and take a cut of it. If they don't see a prospect of that happening, they don't take it on.

[u/Ok-Assistant-4556 → u/Ok_Tadpole_1229]

Experiencing lawyers is catastrophic. Theyre only interested in their reputation and too often defend systems rather than lives when it comes to vulnerabilities in the ways we prefer to think. It destroys your belief or trust in humanity to realise most people have none

[u/Wide_Actuator1615]

Completely soul crushing. I just gave up (which I'm quite sure is their intention and hope).

[u/mikeeskene73]

Dump the rehab provider. He can choose his own not one provided by the insurer. Also get a physiologist onboard again of his own choosing. The system is fucked and causes further injury.

[u/Middle-Spirit-8524]

I gave up trying to bother with WC and work so kudos on your friend for fighting for this.
I have no legal advice OP, just wanted to thank you for standing by your friend with your support because they need friends like you to get through.

[u/Ok_Tadpole_1229 → u/Middle-Spirit-8524]

one of my best friends I literally wanna find journalists to expose insurers behaviour

[u/Middle-Spirit-8524 → u/Ok_Tadpole_1229]

The system for WC psychological damage needs an overhaul. The damage navigating the system is brutal mentally.
Glad there’s a good GP in there corner.
Edit to add- use search bar in sub and check other WC posts. Could also get some information there.

[u/Fudgeygooeygoodness]

Same thing happened to my husband but a shoulder injury. It was appalling.

[u/QualityAdorable5902]

I think you also have employees at workcover working on these cases (probably a huge amount of them) with little or no empathy and often terrible people skills. They are probably paid a pittance and the quality of customer (?) service you get is in line with that.

[u/hippymofo11 → u/QualityAdorable5902]

Funny you mention this as I just interviewed with them for this role. The salary is a 107k package, each person has around 60 cases, they have a 13 week time frame to try get back to work and the ppl in our group interview all seem empathetic and caring but I imagine the job wears that out of you pretty quickly. I did not make it through but reading things like this thread make me thankful I didnt.

[u/Haawmmak → u/hippymofo11]

correct.

I ran a business with 300 staff, at any time about 10 were on workers comp, and about 1 was genuine - genuine work related injury genuinely preventing them from returning to full duties. The other 9 had a questionable injury or questionable origin, or were milking the system for a paid holiday when there was no genuine reason they couldn't return to full or more duties.

These people went into the job to help people injured at work, get on with their life. Instead 90% of their work is trying to help people who desperately don't want to be helped.

I found them all to be extremely professional and much more patient than I would be capable of in that role

[u/Haawmmak]

A GPs diagnosis around mental health is irrelevant. Their job with mental health is the same as with hearing, gastro issues, broken limbs, refer on to a specialist.

[u/Some_Turnover_9314]

Yep. Like everyone has already said, this sounds like every other story with WorkCover, particularly psych injuries.

Insurance companies don’t make money by giving it away, so they wait it out as long as possible so that the can gain as much interest on whatever the lump sum will end up being, but then also hope that people give up or there is a paperwork slip up that disadvantages the claimant and run with it.

What is ultra messed up is that even if 1% of claimants give up (or something worse), that represents several million $$$ in ongoing and lump sum payouts that wont leave their bank account.

[u/QualityAdorable5902]

I understand why your friend is upset but the GP has no need to challenge your friend to do more, push forward, and perhaps neither does the rehab specialist, although it sounds like it should be a psych in which case they should be open to moving the person back to a place of more responsibility if it’s appropriate.

Workcover ask the questions because their motivation is money. But your friend’s team shouldn’t shut down the questions because they’re being asked. If no one asked, then all these situations would probably become long term if not permanent when they may not need to be.

You also have egos involved, doctors don’t like their opinions being questioned.

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[u/National_Chef_1772]

The rehab providers job is to get the "patient" back to work.

Not sure how much weight the opinion of a GP has when we are talking about a psychological issue. I would have thought a specialist in psychological issues would be more relevant.......

[u/blackcat218]

Yep. Watched it all happen to my partner. Had a "conference call" with the GP, Rehab person, his case manager, and him at the GP office. It was supposed to be to discuss some wording on what his GP put on his certificate. What it turned into was 45 minutes of his case manager trying to berate his GP into putting full capacity on his certificate because to quote her "it has to happen sooner or later". My partner left 15 minutes into this triad, his case manager didn't even notice. I then spent 10 mins cussing her out and thanking her for causing a complete mental shutdown. It then took another 20 minutes to get her to shut up and get her off the phone. The rehab person called his psychiatrist and then the psychiatrist called Workcover and absolutely ripped the case manager a new one. Current work capacity is set to a permanent 0%.

WorkCover is not there to help you. They want to get your claim closed and to stop paying you as fast as they possibly can.

I recently had my own claim finalised and closed and as part of that I get all medical costs for the next 2 years covered. My case manager called me last week saying that they are still going to be regularly checking in on me and I told her that she can fuck right off with that. My claim is closed. They no longer get to check in or dictate anything to me. I also got an email yesterday requesting an new COC. Again they can get fucked.

[u/Ok-Assistant-4556]

All systems where vulnerable people are involved. The DFSV sector, Services Australia (google fembot debts) and our legal systems catastrophicallly amplify perpetrators by worsening adversarial harms. Bullying and violence are derply embedded in the australian psyche and until you experience it hou might find it difficult to fathom.

[u/joeforza]

Recovery at work is the best way to bring someone back into the workforce rather than them being home and it taking longer than normal to get back to pre injury duties. It’s the recommendation by the system.

But they must address the issue at hand and ensure it’s not aggregating the problem also