If you have a workers compensation claim in Victoria you may
have come across at some stage the very unfamiliar term
"impairment benefit". To most of my clients this is a
completely unknown phenomenon to them and explaining it clearly and
adequately is often a challenging experience for people who have
never been involved in the Victorian Workers' Compensation
scheme before.
You may find yourself in the situation where your lawyer has
encouraged you to lodge an impairment claim and a decision has come
back and you have to elect to either accept the insurer's
decision or challenge it. In these circumstances most injured
workers are at a complete loss to know what to do.
A brief history of workers' compensation in Victoria would
start with the days prior to there being any legislated compulsory
insurance scheme. During those dark times if you were unfortunately
injured at work then your only way of recovering your lost wages
and medical expenses would be to sue your
