Our client was employed by one of the large supermarket chains here in Sydney. She had worked diligently for her employer for many years. One day she was lifting a large container of produce from a trolley with the intention of placing the produce in a refrigerated display cabinet. As she stepped forward to do this, she slipped on the floor causing a serious wrenching of her knee and causing her to crash to the concrete floor.
She was shocked and felt immediate pain in her leg, particularly in her knee region. The accident was reported and she rested for a while. Ice packs were used but didn’t really help. She was then escorted to her local GP.
Scans were taken and initially the GP suggested rest and conservative treatment. Her employer was keen to keep her at work. Not wanting to upset her employer or jeopardize her job, she soldiered on at work. Being on her feet on a hard concrete floor didn’t help in her recovery. She was forced to take pain relief medication and underwent physiotherapy.
Whilst she struggled at work, she was not getting any better. She was then referred by her GP to an orthopaedic specialist. Initially the specialist recommended an arthroscopy be performed of her knee. The arthroscopy demonstrated serious damage inside her knee. The specialist advised that she would need to undergo a total knee replacement, but because of her relatively young age he could not perform this surgery for several more years. This caused serious depression in our client. She had always been a hard worker and was used to being on her feet all day. She had left school early and was not trained for any other work.
She struggled on at work in serious pain for as long as she could. The daily grind of work was seriously aggravating her knee and ultimately she had to stop work.
Eventually, her employer decided to terminate this loyal employee – “if you can’t work a full day then you are of no use to us” seemed to be the attitude of the employer.
Having been terminated, she was left in a situation where there was no other work that she could do.
Not knowing what to do, she turned to the experts in compensation, negligence claims, TPD and income protection claims here at Taylor & Scott. Michelle Meigan, who is a Senior Associate and expert in TPD and income protection claims, conferred with her client. She explained that her workers compensation rights were in order but because she was now unfit for work and this appeared to be a permanent situation, that a careful review of her TPD rights and income protection rights should be undertaken. It was agreed that Michelle would undertake this review focusing on her client’s entitlements under her superannuation policy.
After carefully reviewing her superannuation, Michelle was able to advise her client that she believed she had viable TPD and income protection claims. Michelle’s client then requested her to act in investigating the claims further, gathering together all the evidence needed and then submitting all documentation to the insurer on her behalf.
As well as completing all the TPD and income protection documentation, Michelle obtained supporting evidence from the orthopaedic specialist and general practitioner who, I am pleased to report, both supported our client’s TPD and income protection claims.
Having submitted the claims, several months of toing and froing then ensued with the insurance company. Michelle was able to secure a full award for her client in respect to her total permanent disability claim. At this stage, further submissions are being made in respect to the income protection claim, but Michelle is confident that ultimately the insurance company will be forced to concede the validity of the income protection claim as well.
Commenting on the case, Michelle said:
“Many clients are overwhelmed by the requests for information made by insurance companies. They are unsure as to how forms should be completed and have difficulty obtaining reports from treating doctors whose support is needed in respect to a TPD claim or an income protection claim.
This is where our team of expert lawyers in TPD and income protection are able to assist. We are able to take the worry away from our clients. We make sure we gather all the evidence needed and ensure that all forms are correctly completed.
Ultimately, if the insurer does not pay the claim, we are then in a position to challenge this decision in the courts if necessary.”
If you or someone you know suffers an injury or illness which prevents them from working, you may have very valuable rights to TPD or income protection. You can trust the experts in TPD and income protection here at Taylor & Scott to ensure that you receive maximum compensation.
Please contact our TPD and income protection experts here at Taylor & Scott by completing the form on this page, emailing us at info@tayscott.com.au or phoning us on 1800 600 664 so that a convenient appointment may be arranged. If we act for you, it will be on a no-win/no-pay basis meaning that you don’t pay us any costs whatsoever unless you are successful with your TPD or income protection claim.
You can trust Taylor & Scott Lawyers to ensure maximum compensation in respect to your TPD and income protection claims.
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