Hi,
So... self-employed DH fell off some scaffolding on Friday and has been in the ICU in the Royal Adelaide Hospital since it happened.
We have no insurance and he probably will have to have about 3 weeks off. Will Centrelink offer any assistance eg. Sickness Allowance. Has anyone else been in his situation? We have a 2 year old so we already receive FTB A & B and rent assistance.
Thanks in advance peoples : )
Oh no :( I hope he recovers quickly xx :hug:
I would give CL a call (or even better pop into an office nearby) and enquire, you should be able to get sickness benefit with a Dr's certificate.
you can apply for parenting payment, if you're not already on it
he can apply for newstart incapacitated (sickness allowance) - you will have to provide a LOT of "evidence" to show income levels and how this injury has impacted that. with self employed people, it is generally not based on week by week income - it's annual if it can be, quarterly if not. so that will all have to be assessed.
Thanks girls.
We have been debt free for more than 2 years but just took out a personal loan to buy a work car for DH as we couldn' save the money quick enough - just too hard having 1 car between the 2.5 of us. So now i'm stressing about making the payments on time.
I am going to see if i can get a job next week and i will have to ask family for special favours to look after DS since DH won't be able to pick him up once he's at home so he's better off with someone else during the day.
It seems every time he starts earning good money, something crappy happens and then we are completey broke again! Why does it always have to be this hard!!!?
Is your dh eligible for workcover? or does that not cover self employed people?
i hope your dh heals well. a work accident can cause alot of financial stress, so it's good you're taking steps NOW.
Some companies he has worked for in the past has said they will pay WorkCover for him but the company he was working for on Friday never mentioned it so i don't think so. Plus one of the guys on site called for an ambulance so that'll be a nice large bill i don't want to see.
I have been having trouble with DH lately in regards to working anyway. He doesn't want to work anymore, just wants to be at home with DS and myself - he has seperation anxiety and depression. He got 'sacked' from the company he was subbying for about a week ago but just managed to get a few weeks work with this new company but only did a few days work and now this. I'm sure he jumped off the scaffolding....
Really?? You think he jumped? Oh darling! I cannot imagine the stress you are under right now! I am sure the family would help out considering the situation! Def ask about workcover with the company tho... Even if you don't have insurance, surely the site would?? I'd give CL a call first thing Monday morning and there has to be something they can do!:
Praying for you guys!!! Xx
having to pay an ambulance bill once (when i was on Austudy - no concession, had to pay full tote), it was something huge like $700 for a 10 min ride.
that was enough lesson for me. since then i have paid for Ambulance Subs every year.
have needed two ambulances since then (once in labour, once when bilby fell off changetable)
Each occurence was unexpected, i think i have gotten my money's worth.
i cannot imagine how you're feeling, even the possibiltiy in your mind that your hubby jumped. does he see a counsellor for his anxiety?
does your dh belong to a union? maybe ask for advice from them. knowing where to ask can make all the diff.
thinking of you at this very stressful time. best of luck.
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 you DH makes a quick recovery. How scary :hug:
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.
take care hun :hug:
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.
How scary for you. The others have all offered good advice. Hope things loou up for you soon. xx
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!
Thanks again girls!
JELLYBEAN, i'm glad to hear he's out of ICU. Does he stay in hospital for inhouse rehab? or can he do rehab from home?
good luck with all your phone calls, lots to organise (for you), plus all the visiting (dh in hosp) and normal mummy/house stuff.