When Pete, an employee of Waller Fencing, a family company in Port Elliot, South Australia, was injured at work, his boss, David Waller, was worried.
Having previously lodged a workers compensation claim through the old WorkCover system, he feared he would again endure an impersonal process.
“I could never get in touch with anyone”, David recalls. “I felt like a number. My claims manager didn’t understand the pressure I was under, both with the claim and with my business.”
Mobile case management
EML mobile claims specialist Kellie went to meet with David in his workplace. Kellie is one of more than 60 mobile claims specialists in South Australia, who together make around 11,500 individual visits to workplaces each year.
EML delivers a mobile case management service on behalf of ReturnToWorkSA, and its focus is early intervention and personal support.
Everyone wins
David needn’t have worried about being overlooked.
“I never thought I’d have a claim managed like this”, he says. “Kellie came out and saw me – that was the first difference. She took the time to listen and understand my business. She could see I didn’t have any appropriate work for Pete, so she didn’t force me to keep him there while he was unfit.”
“EML’s management of Pete’s claim through the new return to work scheme was exceptional. I was listened to, I was collaborated with and I was treated like a person.”
If David had any concerns, he could contact Kellie any time of the day and they would come up with a solution together.
“The process was collaborative, the communication outstanding. We were able to get Pete back to work in a role that suited his injury and my business.”
“Sustainable return to work is about collaborative relationships between workers, employers and case managers – and being mobile allows us to strengthen these relationships.” says Kellie.
