Below are 5 case studies which highlight how AMIEU Qld Branch members have been assisted by Maurice Blackburn lawyers:

  1. A rail boner sustained three separate elbow injuries in three months due to damaged equipment and poor training of other staff, causing large meat carcases to fall as he was working on them. Our member was referred to Maurice Blackburn Lawyers who took on his claim for workers’ compensation. During the course of his claim, it was identified that a second party were partially responsible for his injury – which his employer had failed to bring forward despite being obligated to do so. Maurice Blackburn Lawyers managed to protect our member’s interests by immediately commencing court proceedings on the second party. Being unable to return to work as a butcher, which he had worked in since he left high school, our member retrained in a new industry with the settlement money from his claim as a buffer.
  • A member suffered a repetitive strain elbow injury after working on the boning line in a Central Queensland abattoir. His employer had gradually reduced the number of workers and increased the number of cuts, meaning each worker had more carcasses to process each shift. Our member was referred to Maurice Blackburn, who worked against the member’s difficult employer who strenuously denied the evidence against them. At one point, the employer was overheard questioning how Maurice Blackburn understood so much about the systems at the abattoir! The member received a settlement of four times the estimated amount.
  • A table butcher injured his shoulder while working with hard beef, despite repeatedly raising concerns about the issue in the workplace health and safety committee that he attended. It had been documented in meetings that the meat sat for too long in chillers that were too cold, which made the beef difficult to work with and increased likelihood of injury. After meeting with Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, our member commenced a workers’ compensation claim. The employer’s insurer stubbornly refused to budge until Maurice Blackburn told them their offer wasn’t going to cut it, and got the member $95k in settlement.  
  • A North Queensland member, who spent ten years working as a slicer, has won compensation after she suffered a shoulder injury that required surgery. Despite workforce reducing, the number quotas that each worker had to meet each shift remained stable – putting significant pressure on staff. After the member’s surgery, she was told by her doctors that they weren’t sure she’d be able to go back to her job again. She commenced a claim with Maurice Blackburn who were able to prove her employer caused her injury, and she walked away with over $70k to help her re-establish her life in a new career.   
  • A member heading home from work was hit by another vehicle travelling through an intersection after they failed to give way to her. The member suffered a number of injuries to her neck, spine and chest and subsequently had to quit her role as a process worker. Our member was referred to Maurice Blackburn, who quickly commenced a claim against the at-fault driver. Her settlement provided the member with money to assist her while she looked for a new career, and was also able to go towards counselling sessions to deal with psychological impacts of the accident.