Dreamworld in more strife with Queensland’s safety regulator after dangerous near-misses

[rappa]

Perhaps if the company hadn’t treated the workers involved like crap and ensured they continued to have the care and help they needed once the cameras stopped rolling he wouldn’t need to sue. 
 

Also the comment of ‘choosing to still work at a theme park’ fails to consider what if thats the industry he knows and has worked his whole career to be good at?

 

The only people Ardent treated worse than the workers who were involved in the rapids tragedy were the guests who they left without heads. 

[Brad2912]

4 minutes ago, rappa said:

Perhaps if the company hadn’t treated the workers involved like crap and ensured they continued to have the care and help they needed once the cameras stopped rolling he wouldn’t need to sue. 
 

Also the comment of ‘choosing to still work at a theme park’ fails to consider what if thats the industry he knows and has worked his whole career to be good at?

 

The only people Ardent treated worse than the workers who were involved in the rapids tragedy were the guests who they left without heads. 

I’m not disagreeing with you at all. Just a firm believer that mental health is vitally important and if you have suffered through that level of trauma that it continues to haunt you daily, that you proactively move yourself from the situation for your own sanity and health. He deserves every dollar he can get for what he saw/witnessed/was involved in 

[Jdude95]

I know we can't judge but if I was that traumatised from an incident, I wouldn't continue to work there for another 4 years before trying to sue them for compensation. 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

I don't think we can rush to judge. Mental health is a long game. It has many steps, and the 'suing for compensation' step is wayyy down the line. Usually a court or other arbitration method won't enter into discussion of suitable compensation until the condition is treated and stabilised.

The usual path includes:

• Injury (which in the case of mental health can take months to manifest into something recognisable that you seek help for).
• Medical attention - initially a GP is sought (although in some workplace cases, where they have counsellors involved, this step may be skipped
• Referral - The GP or Counsellor makes recommendations that the person be referred to a more qualified person - usually psychiatrist \ psychologist.
• The specialist assesses the person. At some stage between GP and this step, a medical opinion is made, determining whether the injury is work related, and if so, a workcover medical certificate is issued to provide the employer.
• The specialist recommends treatment - this can include counselling, medication, adjustments to duties etc.
• The workplace HR machine switches into action on receipt of the workcover certificate. Either a dedicated HR person, or a contracted 'rehab consultant' is involved to manage the case. The employer's workers compensation insurer is notified of the injury and their team gets involved too.
• The insurer or relevant party needs to determine whether the claim is compensable - is it genuinely work related. They may require the worker to attend different ("independent") doctors or specialists to validate the opinions of the treating practitioners. Until this happens, the worker is usually having to manage their condition using their own entitlements for sick leave etc, although some employers may allow use of 'special' leave arrangements so that the worker isn't out of pocket during diagnosis prior to the claim being accepted.
• If the insurer accepts the claim, they take over responsibility for costs. Some doctors won't provide treatment or assessment for a workers compensation case without upfront payment - something most insurers won't do until they've agreed to accept liability. This can make it hard for the worker to get the treatment they need whilst their income is depressed from taking time off \ exhausting leave etc.
• The case manager will work with the insurer, the doctors, and the worker to determine what work the worker can do, what adjustments are needed, or alternate duties while treatment continues. This is ongoing from the moment the workcover certificate is issued, and the goal of the insurer, workplace etc, is to have the worker continue to work 'as normally as they can' whilst the case progresses. If all the doctors in this case were satisfied that the worker could continue to perform some, or all of their duties at Dreamworld whilst the case progressed, he would be obligated to do so with whatever adjustments to duties they felt were appropriate. This involves the worker in these discussions, so a bit of negotiation happens here - ultimately though, if he can work, then he is required to do so.
• When the medical experts, including the treating doctor and the insurer's medical team are satisfied that further treatment is unlikely to improve the current situation, they determine that the injury is stabilised. At this point, the lasting effects of the original injury can be quantified - what impact has this injury had on the worker's career - what can they no longer do? what effect does this have on their ability to generate the level of income they had prior to the injury?

This is the point where a level of lump sum compensation can be determined. It is almost certain (my opinion only) that the insurer made an out of court settlement offer as soon as the stabilisation determination was made. It was almost certainly low-balled, and any halfway-sane person would have sought legal representation to advise them. Their legal advisor would have advised them to decline the settlement offer, and the next step is to lodge a case through the courts.

 

This guy hasn't sat on his laurels for four years. He's probably been through hell in this time. And while it has affected him, the affects probably weren't something that would prevent him from his duties.

I personally think that anyone who thinks the delay in lodging this claim is unreasonable probably hasn't been through the compensation claim machine for themselves, and has no idea what they are talking about.

[Naazon]

20 hours ago, Brad2912 said:

Suing your current employer for over $600k probably won’t do your future job satisfaction any favours. 

 

Just because they are suing doesn't mean DW don't agree or accept. In some instances you are required to sue for the insurance payout.

 

Follow the court case. If its quick and DW are assisting then you will know their stance.

[gavinfulikes]

Pandamonium, Triple Vortex and Fully 6’s slides 2&3 are now all closed until the end of the school holidays.

[Jdude95]

2 hours ago, gavinfulikes said:

Pandamonium, Triple Vortex and Fully 6’s slides 2&3 are now all closed until the end of the school holidays.

All rides that had a reported incident. Makes sense. Much better than the media who were reporting things like Sidewinder as rides that were closed because an incident was reported.