“Chris” was a carpet layer who worked in a small suburban firm.

It was a family run business that thrived financially. Chris' work colleagues had no qualms with the industrious pace of the work as overtime and bonuses were plentiful.

The work was fun, too.

Chris enjoyed all facets of the trade, but there was no escaping the acceptable reality that a pound of flesh was always expended.

After all, Chris and his colleagues were required to roll-out heavy carpets onto the showroom floor on a daily basis. Successful sales, of course, would entail the “rolling-up” of heavy carpets, of varying length, size and fabric.

This was the daily grind for all the staff at this happy and prosperous firm.

Chris was a happily married family man, but his positive outlook on life slowly began to abate with the insidious encroachment of knee pain, first in his right knee, eventually in his left knee.

Chris was proud of his “manly” role as a bread-winner and provider and tried, as best he could, to ameliorate his symptoms.

“Tiger balm”, “over the counter” pain killers, and physiotherapy kept him going for six months.

Finally, urged on by his concerned wife, he went to his doctor who after noting the results of preliminary investigations, referred him to an orthopaedic surgeon.

Chris was thus placed on modified duties.

In the small, family-owned carpet business, “modified duties were hard to find, let alone identify.

The insurer's rehabilitation provider, a well – intentioned occupational therapist, identified a role in the tea room. Chris was allocated tea and coffee making duties, along with the ordering of milk, newspapers, and other minor ancillary items.

After bilateral cartilage surgery on both knees, Chris became extremely depressed when the orthopaedic surgeon advised him that his carpet-laying days were over.

His genuinely caring and prosperous employer reassured Chris that he had a “job for life” as a “gofer” in the firm, with no cut in pay or entitlements.

Even though Chris appreciated his employer's genuine sincerity, Chris began to develop a Major Depressive Disorder.

The meticulous occupational therapist became alarmed at Chris' evident psychiatric deterioration. She helped Chris identify a number of new vocational options. She noted that Chris lived close to the Dandenong Computer Power Training Institute.

Accordingly, the occupational therapist identified a twelve month computer course – for the cost of approximately $10,000, – that also held the promise of an immediate redeployment with a computing firm upon successful completion of the course.

The superb occupational therapist was told by the insurer, in no uncertain terms, that “suitable employment” (encompassing no cut in pay and conditions) had already been provided by the insurer.

A despondent Chris could only see years of drudgery and depression if he remained with the carpet company.

Chris discussed the matter with his wife. They decided to pay the cost of the course out of their own funds.

Chris resigned from the carpet company, the insurer “closed” his file and Chris commenced and subsequently completed his course successfully.

It was a reputable college and they immediately found interesting and compelling work for Chris.

The hard times were over.

However, one night at home Chris and his wife were watching television when a “WorkCover” commercial came on TV indicating that “WorkCover” would “look after” injured workers.

Chris and his wife immediately welled-up with anger. They sought advice from their lawyer and referred the matter for Conciliation.

At the conciliation conference, Chris and his wife were pleased and tremendously relieved when, after two hours of bartering, the insurer agreed to reimburse Chris 75% ($7,500) for the cost of the course.

POSTSCRIPT: Under the current Victorian legislation, the well-meaning employer acted honourably in this matter. The insurer, for its part, was well within its right under the law to not provide Chris with a partial (or total) reimbursement for his computer course. The reality, of course, is that if Chris had not undertaken the computer course, he would have slid into a life of DSP-dependent invalidism. The occupational therapist deserves credit for identifying the option but was understandably bamboozled when confronted by the insurer's strong-armed submission that it would breach the VWA guidelines if it approved the course.