Corey is a 31 year old civil labourer who sustained an injury to his left arm while using a grinder in an overhead position. At the end of his workers' compensation claim Corey had no job to return to and was unable to return to work in a heavy manual labouring position due to his injury.
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For injuries that occurred within the period 12 May 1988 to 31 December 1995 where a worker was offered a lump sum payment using the table "Nature of Injuries" the worker is excluded from receiving an additional lump sum payment for prescribed disfigurement.
For example, an injury occurring in January 1991 which resulted in an amputation of a finger would be assessed using the table "Nature of Injuries" and the worker would have been offered a lump sum payment for any permanent disability. The Workers' Compensation Act 1990 states these workers are not entitled to be offered an additional lump sum payment for the prescribed disfigurement.
For injuries prior to 12 May 1988, there is only a provision for facial scarring and for injuries after 1 January 1996 the specific wording that excluded the additional lump sum for prescribed disfigurement was removed. This means that for injuries after 1 January 1996 workers were able to be offered a lump sum payment for Permanent Impairment as well as any prescribed disfigurement as a result of the injury.
Relevant Act sections:
Workers' Compensation Act 1990 s8.16 and s8.6
Workers' Compensation Act 1916 s14(1)(C)(d)