The experiences of injured persons in compensation systems

The findings of three studies offering important insights into compensation systems and injured people will be presented at a research symposium in Melbourne this week.

Researchers from Monash University and the University of Melbourne, supported by the Institute of Safety, Compensation and Recovery Research (ISCRR) have conducted the first rigorous academic studies of injured persons' experiences in the current Victorian workers compensation and transport accident compensation systems.

Dr Alex Collie, Chief Research Officer at ISCRR, said the impact of compensation systems on the recovery is of increasing interest for policy makers, practitioners and researchers.

"WorkSafe and the TAC provide compensation to more than 40,000 people in Victoria every year and recent research has identified aspects of compensation systems that have positive and negative impacts on injured people," Dr Collie said.

"We know that many of these 40,000 people enjoy a full recovery and return to work or normal life. However, some suffer the effects of their injury over a very long time, or for the rest of their lives.

"There are many research studies showing that injured people receiving compensation can have worse health outcomes and a slower recovery than people with similar injuries not receiving compensation. These studies begin to tell us why and how this happens."

The studies explored the experiences of injured people in compensation systems, and identified factors such as communications with the client and independent medical examinations that may lead to a negative experience or slower recovery.

"These findings are valuable to WorkSafe and the TAC here in Victoria because they can be used to improve client experiences and improve the recovery and health of injured people," Dr Collie said.

The research symposium 'Experiences of injured persons in compensation systems: Insights from local and international research' will hear the following studies:

• 'Exploring patient perceptions of barriers and facilitators of recovery following trauma' by Associate Professor Belinda Gabbe, Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University;
• 'The experiences of injured workers in workers compensation systems: A systematic review of international literature' by Beth Kilgour, Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University & ISCRR; and
• 'The Health Effects of Compensations Systems (HECS) study' by Dr Genevieve Grant, Faculty of Law, Monash University.