More than $50m has been paid out to Victorian teachers and tertiary staff who were injured on the job in the past two years, with experts blaming the ­“explosion” of compensation claims on aggressive students and staff bullies.

WorkSafe data obtained by the Herald Sun under Freedom of Information laws shows teachers from state and private schools, as well as tertiary and TAFE educators, made 1199 of claims in 2022 and 1468 claims in 2023.

The claims included teachers suffering psychological stress, concussions, fractures and even cases of deafness.

Arnold Thomas & Becker has received almost 100 inquiries in the past year relating to teacher injuries while working including psychological and physical harm.

In July, ATB settled a matter for $700,000 in a case where a schoolteacher sustained physical injuries at work due to lack of safety protocols and correct equipment in place by the school.

One of their clients, regional primary school teacher Julie*, who injured her vertebrae after tripping due to the school providing an unsafe environment, said her whole life had been “turned upside down” after the incident.

“It’s affected everything from my physical to mental wellbeing, my life will never be the same,” she said.

Arnold Thomas & Becker lawyer Nancy Yonan said there was a growing “workplace safety crisis in our schools”.

“Arnold Thomas & Becker represent a number of teachers who are pursuing workcover claims against the Department of Education and have identified an increase in common law claims relating to teachers and educators. 

“It’s unfortunate to see our state’s educators are suffering from serious physical and psychological illnesses, as evidenced by an increase in claims of the past 5 to 10 years”.

“There is a growing workplace safety crisis in our schools, which we believe is heavily underreported as we find that many teachers who contact us are wary about speaking out or pursuing claims as they fear the repercussions on their employment status or reputation.”