Not sure if it is the same or not...
DH once worked on a worksite as a contractor. Whacked his head on a scaffolding beam, that wasn't installed properly, but as he was a contractor on another person's site, he was covered by WorkCover. He didn't claim it but he was given the forms and the Dr etc signed them.
Had he wanted to claim he could have. So not sure it would be different - as a contractor working for someone else on their site, he would be covered by WorkCover I think.
That sounds awful - I'm glad your DH sounds like he is going to be okay but ICU means it must be pretty serious!
Have you looked at his super fund? Some of them have and injury or sickness insurance component automatically and will pay 75% of his wages for up to 6 months (or something like that) until he is better. Otherwise there should have been some kind of insurance covering the work site and that should at least cover the ambulance costs ... whether it is worth the excess and who is responsible for that, I don't know. Most work sites have to have some kind of insurance paid for by someone.
If your DH is the one responsible for the insurance or workcover, it might not be worth him claiming anything though unless you have exorbodent medical bills to cover. Making a workcover claim means that Occupational Health and Safety will come out and do an assessment and sometimes these can be ongoing for 12 month where the employer has to show they are making improvements and policies to insure there is little chance of it happening again. Insurance premiums will also go up and could end up costing him a lot more money. It is someone else's workcover that he is covered under, it would be worthwhile to claim because those things aren't his responsibility then.
I hope your DH makes a quick recovery, how scary for you xoxoxox Has he been moved out of ICU yet?
You might be able to get money out of his super, I have known people to take money out of their super in "special circumstances" I hope that your able to work things out shortly xoxox
I would be speaking to the company that he was subcontracting for. Was he doing it causally or did he have a contract with them?
There are quite a lot of gaps when it comes to Subby's and W/Cover. You could also contact WorkSafe in your state and discuss the accident with them, they will know whether the company is responsible for the workcver or not - but if he is casual for them it is unlikely, especially as he is new with them, there would be no evidence of what his earning capacity would be.
I am so sorry to hear about this, especially that you have questions as to how it actually happened.
When your DH is out of ICU, make sure that you mention to the nursing staff that he has been depressed lately and that he may need a psych assessment - particularly if you speak with him and you know that he did jump.
Sorry girls i don't think he really did jump but just that he's pretty lazy and has been trying his hardest to not work at the moment. I understand depression but he is a lazy person, that is his personality/attitude in life. For instance, today the doctor met with him and went through his progress with him. DH asked the dr when he can go back to Jiu Jitsu (martial arts) training. When he told me he had to wait 6 weeks i asked 'so how long do you have to take off work", his response was "i dunno, i didn't ask" what???!!! i don't understand him. He just wants all play and no work. He is absolutely not fussed about going back to work. He says things will work out but he just leaves it for everyone else to sort out. Sorry i probably sound like a real cow : (
But on a more positive note, He was moved out of the ICU today which is good news. So hopefully he is back home tomorrow or Tuesday.
Thanks Sunshine. Yes everyone has given good advice. Thanks everyone, and i will ring the site contractor and DH super fund tomorrow morning. Oh and Centrelink of course!
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