However much sympathy you have for the injured or ill workers who cross your path, it isn’t always easy to see “the system” from their perspective. After all, you understand the jargon, you’ve probably got a grip on the relevant legislation.  Although you too might find the paperwork overwhelming, chances are you're not keeping at the forefront of your mind the fact that someone's long term health, not to mention the financial security of their family, are at stake.

Not all workers will be fazed by the workers’ comp system, but some will feel like they’re on a highway to hell, with no roadmap to follow and down the only direction for travelling. So what is it like to find yourself on the workers’ comp highway?

We asked Rosemary Mackenzie-Ferguson, one-time injured worker and founder of the Work Injured Resource Connection, for her take on workers’ experiences of the system. Her responses are below.

It’s white knuckle terrifying.

“You don’t know where you’re going and you don’t know why you’re going there. You’re dealing with the immediate injury and the unknown component of the immediate injury, you’re dealing with the pain, you’re dealing with the impact the injury has on you as a person and you as a member of a family.

“You’re faced with, fill out this form, do this, send this here, go there, do this. Nobody gives you a roadmap. Nobody tells you, 'You don’t have to do all this within 24 hours'. You just know it has to be done. It all sounds so important, so immediate, but you don’t even know where to get a WorkCover claim form from.”

You feel like you’ve done something shameful or wrong.

“Not all doctors are willing to see injured workers or have anything to do with WorkCover. Every doctor will do immediate treatment, so if you’re gushing blood, they will stem the flood. But they won’t necessarily give you a medical certificate for that. Or they will issue with a certificate to say that you were injured at work, but you will have to find another doctor who will say, “Yes, you were injured at work, and I am now the treating practitioner.” It’s the same all over Australia: not every doctor will do WorkCover.

And some doctors will say, “Are you really sure that you want to do this? Are you really sure you want to have a WorkCover claim after your name in your employment history?” Some doctors will try and dissuade you from making a claim. They’ll say, “Look, put it through on Medicare, I’ll give you 2 weeks off and by the end of 2 weeks you should be ok to go back to work.”

You’re worried about the impact all this will have on your family.

“You can’t stop thinking, what is going to happen now? Who is going to get the kids to and from tennis practice, now that I can’t drive? If they reject my claim, how am I going to pay the mortgage, buy school shoes for the kids, buy the groceries? All these things race through an injured worker's mind.”

Your boss is suspicious of your claim.

“Some claims, even though they might be straightforward, are treated with a degree of suspicion. This is a progressive injury, so did this person really do all this damage at work or were they playing professional baseball at the same time?

“The employer will say to the investigator, 'Do you know that they are also involved in several sports? Do you know that they’ve got four kids and they’re probably lifting them up and putting them down all the time?' You have to be able to establish that you actually injured yourself at work and that can be really stressful."

You’re in pain and you’re worried about your health.

“All this stuff is going on and you’re trying to deal with whatever the injury is that put you in the doctor’s surgery, or the emergency room, depending on how grievous the injury is. It’s a lot to cope with.”

You feel like you’ve lost control over what’s happening to you.

“Just say that your claim is being investigated. While the injury is under investigation you may or may not be getting any medical treatment and you may or may not be getting paid. These things impact on you in ways that are detrimental to your mental and physical health. Once you start down that path, you have no way of getting off the roller coaster. It just takes you with it. And you’ve got no control.”

You really need a well-intentioned, well-informed professional friend.

“Nobody says, do you need someone to help guide you through this? The system doesn’t actually provide anybody to guide you through it. You’re surrounded by professional strangers when what you need is someone to listen to your concerns, and provide practical, personal guidance."