The majority of Workcover injuries involve the areas of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine. Dr Low has extensive expertise in the diagnosis and management of workplace injuries related to Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine. Common injuries in the workplace involve the lower back, knees and ankles.

 

We are very fortunate in Australia to have a Workcover system, however it’s not perfect and there are potential traps for both injured employees and employers to fall into. Falling into some of these traps can lead to long drawn out Workcover claims which often leads to tensions between both parties. The statistics show that the sooner the injured employee is back in the workplace in some capacity initially, the more likely they are to return to pre-injury duties.

 

The benefits of seeing Dr Low for workplace injuries is getting the right diagnosis first time and getting the right management plan for rehabilitation first time. This leads to the employee getting back to work faster, minimizing lost wages to the employee and minimizing costs to the employer in insurance premiums. Ultimately there is less chance for disputes to arise from all parties involved. Dr Low may also be engaged as your business workplace injury doctor. Please send Dr Low an email at bsg@bloomfieldmedical.com.au to arrange a meeting if you are interested in having Dr Low as your business workplace injury doctor. 

 

Dr Low can work with both the injured employee and the case manager/employer to determine the most appropriate capacity for activities such as sitting, standing, pulling, pushing driving etc, and give accurate time frames on when an injured employee is expected to be fully recovered from their injury.

 

The ultimate aim is to get the injured employee completely recovered and back to pre-injury duties.

 

Steps for injured employees

1. Employee gets injured at work

2. Report the injury immediately to your employer who will notify the Workcover insurance company

3. See your GP for initial assessment of the injury

4. Ask your GP for a referral to see Dr Low

5. Send the referral to your case manager acting for the Workcover insurance company to get approval

6. Once you have written approval from the Workcover insurance company you may book an appointment to see Dr Low

 

Steps for employers with an injured employee

1.  Ask the injured employee and case manager if the injured employee can see Dr Low

2. The injured employee will need to see their GP to get a referral to see Dr Low

3. The injured employee or employer sends the referral to the case manager for the Workcover insurance company for approval

4. Once written approval has been received from the Workplace insurance company the injured employee can book in with Dr Low

 

​Insurances

If the business has insurance through an external insurance company for Workcover claims, then follow the steps above seeking written approval from the insurance company following a referral from the patient’s GP.

 

If the business is self insured for Workcover claims then the patient can see Dr Low without a referral from a GP. There is no external insurance company to get written approval from.