On this basis some suggestions can be made for improvements to practice.

No abstract

Acritical life event such as a significant work injury imposes on the individual a heavy burden in terms of suffering, social exclusion, stigmatisation, negative role transition, and emotional, and financial costs. Such events, therefore, have multi-level implications relating to the functional restoration of workers, the professional efficacy of their service providers, industry productivity and economic viability at individual, organisational, community and state levels. In accord with this viewpoint, discussions have been held with a range of the key stakeholders, including employers, workers, case managers, WorkCover personnel and vocational and medical providers from which a larger research study has been designed. This paper sets the scene for an investigation into a learning partnership approach to claims / injury management and rehabilitation that is pragmatic, timely and consistent in fundamental principles, and which links well with the treating medical experts, employers, insuring agents, workers and close family members involved.

This paper explores the complexities of the role of the workers' compensation case manager working for claims agents in South Australia. It provides a brief outline of the many skills required by case managers as they deal with the worker's injury, issues of compliance, the legislation, the social and psychological aspects of the worker's claim and the treatment and management of the worker's welfare. It describes the tensions brought about by the dual nature of the case manager's role that encompasses claims processing and injury management, and the conflicts between human and organisational motivations. These findings, although imprecise, demonstrate that in order to achieve sustainable return to work outcomes, case managers need to be competent, well-trained and team players capable of acting as mediators or brokers across the stakeholders. The aim of this paper is to explore the different views of the problems and possibilities of the role of the claims/injury manager from the perspective of the major stakeholders. Some views on the redesign of the role incorporating a partnership and holistic emphasis rather than the claims processing focus are suggested.

This paper promotes the notion that workplace claims/injury management and rehabilitation in South Australia should be a learning process for all stakeholders. It argues that this is often ignored by the system where organisational rigidity and fixed expectations exacerbate problems and reduce the opportunity for change, new ways of learning and reciprocity. This paper asserts that what enables successful cost-effective claims/injury management would be the open operation of the pooled wisdom, experiences and practices of the stakeholders. It upholds the view that the systems involved need to be more flexible in facilitating partnerships and new learning, which would require changes in terms of openness, opportunities for learning and interacting, and establishing common focused goals. In order to study these ‘learning partnerships’, this paper attempts to analyse the dynamic configurations of ‘social power’ in the specific contexts in which the various stake-holders interact.