The epidemic hidden in personal injury cases

From a survey of 1,219 claims nationwide, 34.95 per cent related to mental health or harassment, which, according to LHD Lawyers chief executive James Bodel, “tells you the scale of what’s happening”.

“That’s not isolated behaviour, that’s a national pattern,” Bodel said.

While state variation was noted, bullying was the leading cause in every state except for Western Australia and South Australia. Perhaps more shockingly, Victoria saw almost 50 per cent of its claims related to harassment or mental health. While physical assault and violence was the second leading cause of claims during the period, a 15 per cent gap was present between these causes and those related to psychosocial injury, revealing at the same time the continued threat that physical assault poses to Australian workers, and the growing mental health epidemic threatening to impact employees and organisations at exponentially increasing rates.

This trend has been present for some time – as reported at the beginning of the year, a report from the Insurance Council of Australia revealed mental illness-related compensation claims almost doubled since 2018.

With bullying and harassment claims often falling under the umbrella of mental health, employers are being urged to act more proactively, tighten reporting systems, and encourage respect, trust, and communication in the workplace for the 4.3 million people who experience a mental health condition in any given year.

Bodel said: “We released this data because the firms representing injured workers often see what regulators and employers don’t. Bringing it into the open is the first step toward making Australian workplaces accountable for the harm they’re causing.”

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