29/6/04
Consumer and Employment Protection Minister John Kobelke said most of Perth's plaintiff lawyers would be embarrassed by their association making false claims aimed at denying Western Australia's injured workers millions of dollars in additional benefits.
"A newspaper advertisement today wrongly claims that reforms to workers' compensation, now before the Legislative Council offer no access to common law,"
Mr Kobelke said.
"This is demonstrably not the case and, in fact, there will be greater certainty for injured workers and $130million in extra benefits in the first year."
The Minister said there was no doubt sectional interests in workers' compensation had their barrows to push, but the Australian Plaintiff Lawyers Association (APLA) had misled the public by claiming the Government was slipping through its reform Bill without proper consultation when consultation had been going on for three years.
"Obviously the plaintiff lawyers' association is only interested in two per cent of injured workers (those who use common law) and APLA does not want the other 98 per cent to get significantly increased benefits," he said.
"What the plaintiff lawyers probably don't tell their clients is that of 561 recent cases, where the workers' disability was between 16 and 30 per cent, two thirds of the injured workers got a common law payout of less than $90,000 - had to struggle while they waited for the court case - and still had to pay high legal fees out of their settlements.
"Many of them would have been as well or better off, without going to common law.
"The reforms are about delivering better outcomes for injured workers and not lining the pockets of a few lawyers."
Mr Kobelke said the newspaper advertisement did not point out that UnionsWA was supportive of the reforms and that the Law Society had also written to him, saying the Common Law Proceedings Bill introduced to Parliament last week was needed.
"The action to deal with the 'Dutch' decision, for example, provides a $20million win for injured workers who would otherwise have been disadvantaged," he said.
The Minister said APLA had taken quotes out of context and seized on an AMA media statement, which wrongly assumed the Government wanted to tell injured patients how many times they could see their doctors and what treatment they could receive.
"I have already worked with the Australian Medical Association to amend the clause it was concerned with, so the newspaper quote used is now irrelevant," he said.
"At best, a better workers' compensation system is a balancing act for competing interests but we must not forget that it is all about looking after injured workers."
Details of the reforms and the major improvements they deliver are on the website http://www.workerscomp.wa.gov.au
Minister's office: 9222 9211
