Collins v Repatriation Commission [2009] FCAFC 90

Collins v Repatriation Commission [2009] FCAFC 90

The Tribunal did not err in law in concluding, on the balance of probabilities, that the cause of death was pulmonary embolism and that ischaemic heart disease, while possibly hastening death, was not a medical cause of death. The Veteran's Entitlements Act does not require inclusion of a condition as a medical cause of death solely because it may have affected timing.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
05 August 2009
Procedural Posture
Federal Appeal / Full Federal Court on Appeal From a Single Judge
Outcome
Appeal dismissed
Legal Topics
['causation' 'statutory Interpretation' "war Widow's Pension" 'medical Evidence' "veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 (cth)"]
['administrative Law' "veterans' Entitlements"] ['causation' 'statutory Interpretation' "war Widow's Pension" 'medical Evidence' "veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 (cth)"]

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Federal Appeal / Full Federal Court on Appeal From a Single Judge

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the Tribunal erred in law by not concluding that ischaemic heart disease was a medical cause of death when it may have affected the timing of death' "How medical causation and 'kind of death' should be interpreted for veterans' entitlements under ss 8, 13, 120, 120A of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 (Cth)"]

Ratio Decidendi

The Tribunal did not err in law in concluding, on the balance of probabilities, that the cause of death was pulmonary embolism and that ischaemic heart disease, while possibly hastening death, was not a medical cause of death. The Veteran's Entitlements Act does not require inclusion of a condition as a medical cause of death solely because it may have affected timing.

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed

Orders

  • ['The appeal be dismissed.' 'The appellant pay to the respondent costs of the appeal.']