When a claim for workers compensation is disputed the first step is that the insurer/employer seeks a determination by the Workers Rehabilitation & Compensation Tribunal of a ‘reasonably arguable case’. There is a relatively low threshold for the Tribunal to make such a finding i.e. establish that there is some reasonable doubt about liability.
In their 2013-14 Annual Report the Workers Rehabilitation & Compensation Tribunal provides the following information.
The number of ‘disputes’ continues to rise – up to 7.55% of claims in 2013/14 compared to 3.92% in 2009/10.
The Tribunal received 593 section 81A referrals in 2013/14. Of this 593 referrals 560 (94%) resulted in a reasonably arguable case/consent to reasonably arguable case finding. 103 (18%) of those 560 went on to file s42 referrals and to commence the conciliation process in respect of their disputed claim.
This statistic means that the vast majority (more than 90%) of claimants do not attempt to come back to pursue their claim after a reasonably arguable case finding. The statistics do not provide any information that help to understand the reasons for this.
Here is a link to the full report.
See link to commentary on this subject on Insult & Injury:
