For everyone Compensation for mental health injury

AIL recently negotiated a six-figure settlement for a teacher following a psychiatric injury she sustained after being significantly overworked. The member suffered a deterioration in her mental health after being allocated a larger workload, which forced her to work outside of her regular hours and caused significant stress. The member began to experience panic attacks, lost a substantial amount of weight and began taking sick leave. The principal at her school noticed a decline in the member’s health but said she would need to wait for her senior classes to finish their year before decreasing her workload. The member continued to work full time, hoping to reduce her hours once her senior classes were done. However, her mental health continued to deteriorate, resulting in her being certified as unfit for work. AIL helped her with the WorkCover claim process, reinstating weekly payments following termination of her entitlements, lodging a lump sum claim, and eventually suing DET. The claim for pain and suffering was able to be resolved without affecting her ongoing compensation payments.