If you require assistance at home following a work injury you may be able to make a claim for domestic assistance from the workers compensation insurer.
The WorkCover Independent Review Office (“WIRO”) recently assisted a Worker to get her workers compensation insurer to pay for the installation of a dishwasher after 3 years of her requests falling on deaf ears.
A woman from Sydney, an office worker who had suffered an injury to her arm and was accepted as having 29% whole person impairment (“WPI”) requested domestic assistance at home from the workers compensation insurer. Approximately 3 years ago, the woman had been given a dishwasher by a friend and had requested the insurer simply pay for it to be installed so that she could use it. Her requests to the insurer were simply ignored despite the insurer having 2 Activities of Daily Living reports recommending they pay for the installation of the dishwasher. Once WIRO intervened the insurer finally agreed to meet the cost of installation.
To be entitled to make a claim, you must have completed the domestic tasks yourself prior to the injury, a medical practitioner must certify (based on a functional assessment) that you need domestic assistance and the assistance is assessed as reasonably necessary as a result of your injury and your injury has resulted in at least a 15% WPI or the assistance is temporary (up to six hours per week for a total period of three months).
If you qualify for the above and your claim for domestic assistance is forwarded to the insurer, the insurer must decide whether to approve the assistance within 21 days.
Please do not wait 3 years for an insurer to make a decision if you need domestic assistance following an injury. If a decision is not made after 21 days, contact WIRO or Amanda Robinson at our office.
