Regardless of the type or severity of your injury, your employment must be a ‘significant contributing factor’ for the injury be considered work-related. The following sections will help you understand the types of work-related injuries that can occur.

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Physical Injury

These types of injuries are defined as ‘damage to the body from an external force’ and can be different degrees of seriousness.

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They can include:

• cuts and lacerations

• burns and abrasions

• penetrating wounds

• broken bones and fractures.

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Psychological Injury

Mental injuries (also known as psychological and psychiatric injuries) are conditions that cause abnormal thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.

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They include (but aren’t limited to):

• depression

• anxiety

• post-traumatic stress disorder.

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Diseases

These are abnormal medical conditions that affect all or part of your body as a result of things like infection, inflammation, or environmental factors.

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They can include (but aren’t limited to):

• industrial deafness

• Q-fever

• work-related respiratory diseases such as asbestosis, silicosis, and others.

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Aggravated injury
Sometimes doing your job can make a pre-existing injury worse or more serious. The pre-existing injury could be work-related or non-work-related. If this happens, you’ll need to make a new claim.

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Ongoing symptoms
Sometimes you might continue to have symptoms from your original injury, even after you’ve gone back to work and your claim is closed. If you’re experiencing ongoing symptoms, you can contact WorkCover (or the worker’s compensation section of your employer if they’re self-insured). Once it’s confirmed your symptoms are related to your original injury, your claim might be reopened. Contact WorkCover on 1300 362 128.

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Critical injuries

Some injuries are serious enough for you to be taken straight to the hospital for treatment. If your injury is severe, it will likely need immediate hospitalisation.

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Depending on your injury, you could be in hospital for a long time and/or need a number of surgeries or treatments.

 

These types of injuries can include but aren’t limited to:

• crush injuries that involve multiple broken bones and damage to internal organs

• spinal cord injuries

• traumatic brain injuries

• full thickness burns to more than 30% of the body

• inhalation burns that cause permanent respiratory damage

• blindness

• loss of a limb.

 

Injuries like these are often complex and life changing. Experiencing any work-related injury can be challenging, however injuries this serious can be especially difficult for you and your family.

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WorkCover has a specialised Critical Care team that works closely with workers who’ve experienced life-changing injuries and their families, with the aim of helping you return to independent living.

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WorkCover will work together with your employer and medical or allied health professionals to ensure successful rehabilitation and to get you back to work if possible. If you’ve sustained a serious work-related personal injury, WorkCover may also work in partnership with the National Injury Insurance Scheme Queensland (NIISQ) to manage your claim. 

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​​​Dealing with an injury is time-consuming at a time when your focus should be on healing. By engaging a representative to handle WorkCover and your employer (including all communications), you can rest assured that you have a staunch advocate working to ensure your rights as an injured Queensland coal mine worker are protected. ​

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