Conciliation at Workcover WA
Fees (Disbursements)
There are no filing fees to make an application for conciliation at WorkCover WA. However, to have the best chance of success at a conciliation conference, a worker should be willing to pay for their GP records, a medico-legal report from their GP, and a medico-legal report from their treating specialist.
Some medical practices will release medical records for free. Some will charge up to $100. Most medical practices will charge around $200 to $500 for a GP medico-legal report. Some will provide them for free if they know the worker is experiencing financial hardship or have a good rapport with the worker.
Some medical practices will release medical records for free. Some will charge up to $100. Most medical practices will charge around $200 to $500 for a GP medico-legal report. Some will provide them for free if they know the worker is experiencing financial hardship or have a good rapport with the worker.
Likewise some treating specialists will provide medico-legal reports for free, but others will charge $1,000 to $2,000, sometimes more. A worker should instruct an experienced lawyer to ask the doctor the right questions and provide all relevant evidence to the doctor.
Otherwise if a doctor's opinion is based on incorrect or incomplete information, or the doctor doesn't have enough detail or explanation in his answers, that doctor's opinion will not be accepted.
Otherwise if a doctor's opinion is based on incorrect or incomplete information, or the doctor doesn't have enough detail or explanation in his answers, that doctor's opinion will not be accepted.
Legal Costs
Lawyers may charge their clients the following legal costs for an application for conciliation at WorkCover WA:
Item 1:
Obtaining instructions and attempting to resolve the dispute by negotiation - 4 hours x $484 per hour = $1,936
Item 2:
Preparation of application - 3 hours x $484 per hour = $1,452
Item 3:
Application resolved before a conference, preparation of submissions and filing of further evidence, - 3 hours x $484 per hour = $1,452
Item 4:
Application resolved at a conference, preparation of submissions, filing of further evidence,
attendance at WorkCover WA - 5 hours x $484 per hour = $2,420 (If item 4 is claimed, item 3 cannot be claimed)
Item 8:
Settlement of claim, including preparing of settlement offer and negotiating - 10 hours x $484 per hour = $4,840
However, the insurer will often pay for legal costs if liability is accepted at the conference or the claim is settled at the conference.
Workers should not be afraid to engage a lawyer. WorkCover WA is the only jurisdiction in Western Australia where most work injury lawyers are willing to provide legal services at a conciliation conference on a NO-WIN NO-FEE* basis. Workers will almost always get a better outcome than representing themselves.
Workers should not be afraid to engage a lawyer. WorkCover WA is the only jurisdiction in Western Australia where most work injury lawyers are willing to provide legal services at a conciliation conference on a NO-WIN NO-FEE* basis. Workers will almost always get a better outcome than representing themselves.
Timeframe
1. It usually takes a lawyer 1 week to 1 month to prepare an application for conciliation. It can take time to obtain medical records, medico-legal reports from treating doctors, witness statements, pay slips, and invoices, and then prepare a chronology of events from the evidence.
2. It takes around 1 week for WorkCover WA to process the application and list the application for a conciliation conference, It can take longer if WorkCover WA requires the insurer to clearly state its position.
3. The conciliation conference takes place around a month after that. A conciliation officer will attempt to help the parties to resolve the dispute or settle the claim for a lump sum payment.
Conciliation officers are very qualified, but are quite informal, friendly, and easy-going. The conciliation officer has limited powers to order the employer to pay income compensation for up to 12 weeks if the factual and medical evidence is clear cut, but the employer has no compelling rebuttal evidence. That is rare though. Often the conciliation officer will persuade the insurer to accept liability in those situations.
It should be kept mind that over 95% of workers' compensation claims are accepted by insurers. As for the other 5% or so, there is usually a good reason why the insurer did not accept the claim. Usually there is a factual, medical, or legal dispute that should be decided by an arbitrator. When that is the case, especially with stress claims, it is usually wise for a worker to settle his or her claim for a lump sum payout through an experienced lawyer.
Otherwise, there is a real risk that if the worker went to arbitration, an arbitrator may not be convinced that a worker has proven his or her case. But sometimes, the employer is mistaken, is playing games, is making excuses, or in rare cases is just lying.
When the conciliation process is over, the conciliation officer will issue a certificate of outcome. If no agreement was reached, the applicant then has up to 28 days to make an application for arbitration.
It should be kept mind that over 95% of workers' compensation claims are accepted by insurers. As for the other 5% or so, there is usually a good reason why the insurer did not accept the claim. Usually there is a factual, medical, or legal dispute that should be decided by an arbitrator. When that is the case, especially with stress claims, it is usually wise for a worker to settle his or her claim for a lump sum payout through an experienced lawyer.
Otherwise, there is a real risk that if the worker went to arbitration, an arbitrator may not be convinced that a worker has proven his or her case. But sometimes, the employer is mistaken, is playing games, is making excuses, or in rare cases is just lying.
When the conciliation process is over, the conciliation officer will issue a certificate of outcome. If no agreement was reached, the applicant then has up to 28 days to make an application for arbitration.
4. Sometimes a second conference might be scheduled from up to 8 weeks from the time the application for conciliation was accepted at WorkCover WA to allow the parties more time to have a medical examination, file evidence, or to negotiate a settlement.
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