By far the most frequent piece of evidence used to assist consideration of both the initial and ongoing liability for a claim is a medical report. A medical report can provide valuable and expert information about an employee's compensable condition.

Medical reports can be obtained at any stage in the life of a compensation claim and for many different reasons.  They may be requested in order to establish any one, or all of the following:

  • what condition/s the employee suffers from;

  • the relationship, if any, between the condition/s and the employee's employment;

  • the physical limitations imposed on the employee by the compensable and/or other conditions;

  • the relationship, if any, between the claimed level of incapacity and the compensable condition;

  • the ongoing existence of the compensable condition;

  • current treatment regime, including any treatment plans;

  • the likelihood of any future changes in the level of incapacity;

  • initial impairment assessment;

  • prognosis and possible future treatment options; and

  • general information on the condition, including any historical factors.