Hand and finger injuries are some of the most common workplace injuries, and machinery is behind many of the worst of them: fingers caught in rollers, presses, saws, conveyors, drills and guillotines, or crushed between loads. People searching after one of these injuries usually want to know two things: what they are entitled to, and what affects the amount.
This guide explains how Queensland answers both questions, for factory, manufacturing, metal fabrication, heavy industry and other workers.
What WorkCover pays after a hand injury
WorkCover Queensland, or your employer if it is self-insured, pays without anyone having to prove fault:
- hospital, surgery and specialist costs, including hand therapy and any prosthesis
- weekly payments, based on your normal weekly earnings, while a doctor certifies you unable to work
- rehabilitation and return-to-work support
- a lump sum for permanent impairment once the injury has settled.
How the lump sum is worked out
The lump sum depends on your degree of permanent impairment (DPI), a percentage of the whole person. It is assessed when your injury is stable and stationary: when your condition is well stabilised and unlikely to change substantially in the next year, with or without treatment. An independent doctor or a medical assessment tribunal makes the assessment, using the Queensland impairment guidelines, which are largely based on the American Medical Association’s guides (AMA5).
Your lump sum is then calculated from that percentage, using the ranges set out in the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Regulation 2025. If you think the rating is wrong, you have 20 business days from the notice of assessment to dispute it.
Why it matters which finger
Under the AMA5 method, each digit counts for a different share of the hand, and the hand is then converted to a percentage of the whole person. As a rough guide, for the loss of a whole digit (amputation at the knuckle):
| Digit | Share of the hand | Whole person impairment (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Thumb | 40% | About 22% |
| Index or middle finger | 20% | About 11% |
| Ring or little finger | 10% | About 5% |
A partial amputation, such as a fingertip, rates lower. Loss of movement, loss of feeling and injuries to several fingers are combined with the amputation rating, so a crushed hand that has kept all its fingers can still rate highly. The actual rating is always the assessing doctor’s.
The 20% line: take the lump sum or sue?
The rating decides what happens next.
- Under 20%. You must choose between accepting the lump sum and keeping your right to sue your employer. You can defer the offer and decide later. If you do not respond within 20 business days, the offer is deferred automatically.
- 20% or more. You can accept the lump sum and still claim damages if your employer was at fault.
Before you accept
Most single-finger injuries rate well under 20%. The exception is losing a whole thumb, which can rate over 20%. If an unsafe machine or system of work caused your injury, a damages claim can include losses the lump sum does not cover, such as future lost earnings, and accepting the offer ends it. Get advice before you sign.
Can you sue your employer?
Yes, if your employer was negligent. Employers must manage the risks of plant and machinery, and crush and amputation injuries often involve a failure to guard or isolate machinery. Common examples:
- no guard, or a guard that was removed, broken or bypassed to speed up work
- no interlock or emergency stop, or one that did not work
- maintenance or clearing a jam without isolating the machine (lockout and tagout)
- no training, or being told to use a machine you had not been shown how to use
- gloves or loose clothing near rotating parts
- production pressure, short staffing or fatigue.
WorkSafe Queensland’s guidance for machinery, including the Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021, sets out the controls it expects, such as permanent, fixed or interlocked guards, presence-sensing devices and lockout procedures. Failing to follow it can be evidence that your employer was negligent.
What a damages claim covers
- General damages for pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. These are assessed on the injury scale in the regulation, which has separate items for amputation of the thumb, amputation of fingers, loss of a hand, and other hand injuries graded from minor to extreme.
- Past and future lost earnings, including lost earning capacity if you cannot go back to your trade.
- Lost superannuation.
- Future medical costs, surgery and prostheses.
WorkCover payments already made are generally paid back out of your damages (section 270).
What if it was partly my fault?
You can still make the WorkCover claim, because it does not depend on fault. In a damages claim, your share of the blame can reduce the amount. The WorkCover Act lists circumstances in which a court may find contributory negligence, such as failing to use something provided to reduce the risk, or misusing or interfering with it (section 305H).
Courts expect employers to allow for the ordinary inattention of a worker doing repetitive work. A moment of inadvertence is treated very differently from deliberately ignoring a safe work procedure.
When someone else is responsible
Your employer is not always the only party at fault. You may also be able to claim against:
- the manufacturer or supplier of a machine that was defective or came without proper guarding or instructions
- a host business, if you were placed there by a labour hire agency
- a principal contractor or site occupier that controlled the work.
Claims against someone other than your employer follow the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld). Part 1 of its notice of claim is due within nine months of the injury, or one month after you first instruct a lawyer and the other party is identified, if that is earlier.
What decides how much a claim is worth
There is no standard figure for a lost finger. Reported payouts reflect one person’s facts. What matters most:
- which finger or fingers, how much was lost, and whether it is your dominant hand
- loss of grip, movement and feeling, ongoing pain and sensitivity to cold
- your trade, and whether it depends on fine hand work
- your age and earnings, and whether you can return to your job
- whether your employer, or someone else, was negligent
- any reduction for your own share of the blame.
Our claim estimator explains how Queensland damages are made up.
Time limits
WorkCover6 months Damages3 years
WorkCover claim. Lodge within six months after your entitlement arises, usually the day a doctor first assesses the injury (Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld), section 131). WorkCover can accept a late claim for a mistake, absence from Queensland or other reasonable cause, but it does not have to.
Damages claim. Court proceedings must generally start within three years of the injury, and a notice of claim for damages has to be given first. See our guide to time limits for workers’ compensation claims.
What to do after a hand or finger injury at work
- Step 1 Get medical treatment. If part of a finger was severed, call 000. Wrap it in a clean dressing moistened with saline or clean water, seal it in a plastic bag, and place the bag in iced water. Never put the finger directly on ice.
- Step 2 Report the injury to your employer and make sure it is recorded.
- Step 3 Photograph the machine, the guard (or where it should have been) and the area, before anything is changed or repaired, if you or a co-worker can safely do so.
- Step 4 Write down what happened, who saw it, and any earlier near misses or complaints about the machine.
- Step 5 Lodge your WorkCover claim with a work capacity certificate from your doctor.
- Step 6 Get legal advice before you accept any lump sum offer.
For eye injuries from grinders, welding or other workplace hazards, see our guide to eye injury at work compensation in Queensland.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much compensation do you get for losing a finger at work in Queensland?
It depends on the finger, how much was lost, your work and whether your employer was at fault. WorkCover’s lump sum is calculated from your impairment rating. A damages claim, available if your employer was negligent, can also cover lost earnings, super and future costs.
Does it matter which finger I lost?
Yes. Under the impairment guides, the thumb counts for 40% of the hand, the index and middle fingers 20% each, and the ring and little fingers 10% each.
Can I get compensation for losing a fingertip?
Yes. A partial amputation is rated as a proportion of the finger, and any loss of feeling or movement is combined with it. The lump sum is smaller than for a whole finger, If a machine was unsafe, a damages claim may also be available.
Can I still claim if it was partly my fault?
Yes. WorkCover benefits do not depend on fault. In a damages claim, your share of the blame reduces the amount, but a moment’s inattention is usually treated very differently from deliberately ignoring a safety rule.
Is a crush injury treated differently from an amputation?
Both are rated under the same hand chapter of the guidelines: an amputation by how much was lost, a crush injury by lost movement, feeling and strength. A crush injury that leaves stiff, weak or painful fingers can rate as highly as losing part of a finger.
What if the machine itself was faulty?
You may have a claim against the manufacturer or supplier as well as your employer. Keep any records of the machine’s make and model, and do not throw away damaged parts or gloves.
Carter Capner Law acts in these claims in Queensland. Phone 1300 529 529 or read more about factory and machinery accident claims.
Sources and further reading
Primary legislation, guidance and judgments relevant to the topics covered in this guide:
- Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld)
- WorkSafe Queensland — lump sum payments
- Queensland guidelines for evaluation of permanent impairment — PDF
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
- Managing risks of plant in the workplace — current code PDF
- Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld)
- Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld)
- St John Victoria — first aid for major wounds
- Queensland Ambulance Service — Management and care of an amputated body part (clinical procedure, January 2020) — PDF