Section 280A of the WIM Act operates as a mandatory gateway requiring the making of a claim for lump sum compensation before or at the same time as a claim for work injury damages, regardless of whether the worker has an entitlement to lump sum compensation or wishes to abandon such a claim. The legislative scheme focuses on the making of a claim, not on entitlement or likelihood of success. Workers who fail to comply with s 280A and the Chapter 7 pre-trial procedures cannot maintain a claim for work injury damages. The observations in Kimberly-Clark v Thompson at [43] regarding the inapplicability of ss 281 and 315 where there is no opportunity for a lump sum compensation claim are confined to the specific context of a widow's death claim and do not apply to workers' own claims.
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