The WorkCover Board Tasmania has published a Notice about ‘deemed diseases’. This means that a worker who suffers one of the diseases listed, who has been:
- employed in the work specified against that disease, or
- exposed to a substance at work that is specified against that disease
then that employment is ‘presumed to have contributed to that disease to substantial degree’. This removes the difficulty some workers face proving a connection in order to claim workers compensation.
For example: a worker in the steel industry who has been exposed to manganese at work is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. His employment is presumed to be the main cause of that disease (unless there is compelling evidence otherwise), and he can submit a claim for compensation.
Resources
Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation (Deemed Diseases) Notice 2017: Tasmanian Legislation