TURNER v GEORGE WESTON FOODS LTD TRADING AS TIP TOP BAKERIES (NEWCASTLE); TURNER v GEORGE WESTON FOODS LTD [2007] NSWCA 67

TURNER v GEORGE WESTON FOODS LTD TRADING AS TIP TOP BAKERIES (NEWCASTLE); TURNER v GEORGE WESTON FOODS LTD [2007] NSWCA 67

The trial judge was not in error in assessing the damages limiting the employer's indemnity under Workers Compensation Act 1987 s 151Z(1)(d) as at the date of the indemnity trial. The indemnity claim is statutory and not analogous to a solicitor negligence claim for loss of litigation, personal injury damages are ordinarily assessed at trial, the structure and purpose of s 151Z(1) do not import an earlier hypothetical assessment date, and no sufficiently unjust or anomalous consequence justified departing from that construction.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
30 March 2007
Procedural Posture
Workers Compensation Indemnity Appeal / Application for Extension of Time to Seek Leave to Appeal, Application for Leave to Appeal, and Appeal From District Court Judgment
Outcome
Time extended, leave to appeal granted, appeal dismissed, claimant ordered to pay costs.
Legal Topics
['indemnity Under Workers Compensation Act 1987 S 151 Z(1)(d)' 'assessment Date for Damages Limiting Employer Indemnity' 'leave to Appeal and Extension of Time' 'district Court Appeals' 'limitation Periods']
['workers Compensation' 'personal Injury' 'motor Accidents' 'civil Procedure' 'statutory Interpretation'] ['indemnity Under Workers Compensation Act 1987 S 151 Z(1)(d)' 'assessment Date for Damages Limiting Employer Indemnity' 'leave to Appeal and Extension of Time' 'district Court Appeals' 'limitation Periods']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Workers Compensation Indemnity Appeal / Application for Extension of Time to Seek Leave to Appeal, Application for Leave to Appeal, and Appeal From District Court Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether time should be extended to apply for leave to appeal and leave to appeal granted.' "Whether damages limiting an employer's indemnity under Workers Compensation Act 1987 s 151Z(1)(d) should be assessed as at the date of the indemnity trial or as at the date when the worker's hypothetical damages action would ordinarily have been heard." 'Whether analogies with solicitor negligence cases concerning lost litigation determine the assessment date.' 'Whether construing s 151Z(1) as a whole or to avoid injustice requires an earlier assessment date.']

Ratio Decidendi

The trial judge was not in error in assessing the damages limiting the employer's indemnity under Workers Compensation Act 1987 s 151Z(1)(d) as at the date of the indemnity trial. The indemnity claim is statutory and not analogous to a solicitor negligence claim for loss of litigation, personal injury damages are ordinarily assessed at trial, the structure and purpose of s 151Z(1) do not import an earlier hypothetical assessment date, and no sufficiently unjust or anomalous consequence justified departing from that construction.

Court Disposition

Time extended, leave to appeal granted, appeal dismissed, claimant ordered to pay costs.

Orders

  • ['Extend time to apply for leave to appeal.' 'Leave to appeal granted.' 'Appeal dismissed.' 'Claimant to pay costs of the opponent of the application for leave to appeal and of the appeal.']