Lawyers step into election race
NSW lawyers aren’t easing the pressure on Premier Morris Iemma in the lead-up to the March 24 election. They say the case of a brain-damaged fall victim highlights the effect of tort reforms on compensation payments.
Former house painter John Takacs was awarded $913,390 in the NSW Supreme Court last week, but would have been eligible for much less had the accident occurred after the 2002 reforms were enacted.
NSW Bar Association President Michael Slattery says injured workers are being short-changed by the present WorkCover system, with hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake in each case.
The system’s current budget surplus also has him fuming. “The Government’s own workers’ compensation scheme has raked in a massive $3 billion in just three years, largely due to restricting access to benefits for injured workers,” he said. “There is enough room to transfer some of this money back to those who are in need of it most – the injured.”
Mr Slattery is heading a campaign to wind back the tort reforms and is keen to make it an issue in the current state election campaign. The battle has gained plenty of media attention, but neither Mr Iemma nor Opposition Leader Peter Debnam seem willing to commit themselves to any dilution of the laws.
Mr Iemma says higher payouts would push compulsory insurance premiums up and would only be of real benefit to lawyers. Advisers for Mr Debnam did not return calls from Sunrise Exchange News last week.
Former house painter John Takacs was awarded $913,390 in the NSW Supreme Court last week, but would have been eligible for much less had the accident occurred after the 2002 reforms were enacted.
NSW Bar Association President Michael Slattery says injured workers are being short-changed by the present WorkCover system, with hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake in each case.
The system’s current budget surplus also has him fuming. “The Government’s own workers’ compensation scheme has raked in a massive $3 billion in just three years, largely due to restricting access to benefits for injured workers,” he said. “There is enough room to transfer some of this money back to those who are in need of it most – the injured.”
Mr Slattery is heading a campaign to wind back the tort reforms and is keen to make it an issue in the current state election campaign. The battle has gained plenty of media attention, but neither Mr Iemma nor Opposition Leader Peter Debnam seem willing to commit themselves to any dilution of the laws.
Mr Iemma says higher payouts would push compulsory insurance premiums up and would only be of real benefit to lawyers. Advisers for Mr Debnam did not return calls from Sunrise Exchange News last week.