Work accidents · Construction site injuries
Construction site injury claims in Queensland — for workers injured on site, in the yard, or on the way to and from a job.
Construction site injury claims in Queensland sit inside the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003. Statutory benefits begin under WorkCover. Where a principal contractor, employer or third party was negligent, a separate common-law action runs in parallel.
- No-obligation first consultation
- No win, no fee*
- We set out our costs in writing at the start.
Your time limits
Queensland law- 6 monthsLodge your WorkCover application
- 20 business daysWorkCover decides
- 3 yearsStart court proceedings for damages
Two claims, one team
WorkCover supports your recovery. We investigate any damages claim early.
Accepted statutory claims pay benefits during recovery. We investigate any employer or third-party negligence claim alongside them.
Statutory
WorkCover claim
No fault to prove.
- Weekly payments while you can’t work
- Medical, hospital and rehabilitation costs
- A lump sum if you’re left with a permanent impairment
Lodge within 6 months. The insurer aims to decide within 20 business days.
Common law
Damages claim
Negligence has to be shown.
- Pain and suffering, on Queensland’s injury scale
- Past and future lost earnings and super
- Care, future treatment and out-of-pocket costs
Notice of Claim for Damages, a compulsory conference, and court within 3 years if needed.
The Notice of Assessment
The Notice of Assessment is where the claims can split.
Don’t sign a lump sum offer before advice.
Once your injury stabilises, WorkCover assesses your permanent impairment and may offer a lump sum. What you can do next depends on the rating.
- Under 20%Taking the lump sum ends your right to claim damages against your employer. The choice can’t be undone.
- 20% or moreYou can take the lump sum and still claim damages.
- 20 business daysTo dispute the impairment rating if you think it’s wrong.
How it happened
Most construction site injury claims in Queensland trace to four scenarios.
You'll probably recognise yours below. Each one usually opens both a WorkCover claim and a common-law claim, because on a construction site, someone almost always failed to do something they were obliged to do.
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You fell from height.
You were on a scaffold, a ladder, near an unprotected edge or working over an opening. The edge protection wasn’t there, was inadequate, or you weren’t given proper fall arrest. You fell. You’re now nursing fractures, a head injury or a back injury, off work indefinitely, and worried about how your family pays the rent.
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Something hit you.
A load swung off a crane, a tool came off scaffold, a piece of formwork dropped, a vehicle reversed into your path. The exclusion zone wasn’t enforced, the load wasn’t secured, the spotter wasn’t there. Now you’re in hospital and the principal contractor is already lawyering up.
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Plant or machinery hurt you.
An angle grinder kicked back and burned you. A trench wall came down. A press, a saw or an excavator caught you because the guarding was missing, the isolation procedure was skipped, or you weren’t trained on the gear. Now you’re facing surgery and the employer is suggesting you ‘rushed the job.’
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The work itself broke you down.
Years of lifting bricks, blocks, sheets, panels. A sudden disc injury, or a slow-build shoulder, knee or back that finally gave out. Or repeated noise, dust, vibration. You weren’t given the right equipment, training, rotation, or PPE. You can run a claim for that.
Straight after the injury
Four things to do straight away.
Report it
Tell your employer, and make sure it’s written in the register of injuries.
See a doctor
Ask for a work capacity certificate. You need one to lodge your WorkCover claim.
Lodge within 6 months
Your WorkCover application, from when your entitlement arises.
Keep records
Photos of the site and injury, witness names, pay slips and receipts.
Time limits
Five time limits that decide what you can claim.
Miss the first one and the WorkCover claim can be refused. Miss the last and the damages claim is gone.
- 6 monthsLodge your WorkCover applicationWithin 6 months after your entitlement to compensation arises, usually when a doctor first assesses the injury.
- 20 business daysWorkCover decidesThe insurer aims to decide your application within this period after it is lodged.
- 3 monthsReview a rejected claimApply to the Workers’ Compensation Regulator for a review of the decision.
- 20 business daysDispute your impairment ratingAfter your Notice of Assessment arrives, if you think the rating is wrong.
- 3 yearsStart court proceedings for damagesFrom the date of the injury, after the pre-court steps. Start early: those steps take time.
What you can claim
Two claims cover different losses.
What WorkCover pays
- Weekly payments while you can’t work
- Medical, hospital and pharmacy costs
- Rehabilitation and return-to-work support
- Travel for treatment
- A lump sum for permanent impairment
- Death benefits for dependants
What a damages claim covers
- Pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life
- Past and future loss of earnings
- Lost superannuation
- Paid care and assistance
- Future treatment and out-of-pocket costs
- Interest on past losses
Statutory limits apply to damages, and WorkCover benefits already paid are refunded from them.
How we run your claims
Five steps. Both claims. One team.
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Step 1
No-obligation first consultation
We check whether one or both claims apply, and what each is likely to cover. -
Step 2
WorkCover application
Lodged with your medical certificate, well inside the 6 months. -
Step 3
Damages case built early
Site evidence, witnesses, engineering and medical reports, while WorkCover runs. -
Step 4
Notice of Assessment
We compare the lump sum with your damages claim before you choose. -
Step 5
Conference, then court if needed
Many claims resolve at the compulsory conference. If not, court proceedings start within the 3 years.
Costs
What it costs you.
No win, no fee* on damages claims
If your damages claim doesn’t succeed, you pay no professional fees for our work. You may still have to pay outlays, such as report and court fees, if your costs agreement says so. If a court case is lost or withdrawn, or you don’t do better than an offer the other side made, you may have to pay the other side’s legal costs. We explain this in writing before you sign.
No-obligation first consultation
You decide whether to go ahead once you know your options and the likely costs.
Everything in writing
Fees and outlays for each claim are set out in a costs agreement before we start.
Capped at 50%
Our professional fees are capped at 50% of what you recover, after refunds and outlays (Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld) s 347).
Questions
Straight answers.
Construction is one of Queensland’s highest-risk industries. Common injuries arise from falls from heights, being struck by falling objects or plant, scaffolding and formwork collapses, electrocution, trench and excavation incidents, and injuries from machinery and power tools. Many result in serious harm such as fractures, spinal and head injuries.
Responsibility may rest with more than one party — the principal contractor, subcontractors, the site occupier, equipment suppliers or manufacturers, and your employer. Each has duties under work health and safety laws and the general law of negligence. Identifying every potentially liable party matters, so no one responsible is left out of the claim.
Yes, in appropriate cases. Depending on the arrangement you may be a deemed ‘worker’ entitled to statutory benefits under the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld), and you may also have a common law claim against a principal contractor or head contractor whose negligence contributed to your injury on site.
You may receive statutory benefits such as weekly wage replacement, medical and rehabilitation expenses and a lump sum for permanent impairment. Where negligence is established, a common law claim can add damages for pain and suffering, past and future loss of earnings and superannuation, and the cost of care and future treatment.
Seek medical treatment, report the incident to your employer and the site supervisor so it is recorded, and note the names of any witnesses. Photograph the scene and equipment if you can. Serious incidents should be notified to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland. Then obtain legal advice before signing anything or accepting an early offer.
Time limits are strict. A statutory claim should generally be lodged within six months, and a common law claim is subject to a three-year limitation period under the Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld), with a pre-court Notice of Claim process under the workers’ compensation legislation beforehand. Early advice helps protect your entitlements.
Guides that go further.
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Guide
Construction Site Injury Claims in Queensland: WorkCover, Subcontractors and Suing the Builder
Construction site injury claims in Queensland: WorkCover, subcontractors with an ABN, suing the builder or another trade, falls, scaffolding and time limits.
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WorkCover
What to do when you’ve been injured at work?
The first steps after a workplace injury, what WorkCover pays, and the six-month and three-year time limits.
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First steps
I’m Hurt at Work, Now What? Your First 72 Hours Explained
What to do in the first three days: reporting the injury, seeing a doctor, the Work Capacity Certificate and lodging your claim.
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Time limits
Time Limits for Workers’ Compensation Claims in Queensland
Six months to lodge a WorkCover claim, three years for common law damages, and the exceptions that can extend them.
Hurt at work?
Talk to a lawyer before you sign anything WorkCover sends you. There’s no obligation to go ahead.
General information only, not legal advice about your situation. No win, no fee* applies to damages claims: if the claim doesn’t succeed, you pay no professional fees; whether outlays are payable depends on your costs agreement. If a court case is lost or withdrawn, or you don’t do better than an offer the other side made, you may have to pay the other side’s legal costs.