Wright v State of New South Wales [2024] NSWCA 77

Wright v State of New South Wales [2024] NSWCA 77

On the proper construction of the Certificate of Determination, Mr Wright and the State agreed that Mr Wright was not entitled to compensation under the Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW) in respect of the claimed aggravation and exacerbation of his psychological condition by reason of Post 5 December 2018 Work-related Issues. That issue was resolved by orders 1 and 5, so causation principles had no further work to do. The Medical Assessor did not exclude those post-5 December 2018 work-related matters from the permanent impairment assessment, and the Medical Assessment Certificate therefore contained a demonstrable error. The Appeal Panel erred in confirming it, but the appeal from the...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
11 April 2024
Procedural Posture
Workers Compensation Appeal From Judicial Review Decision / Application for Leave to Appeal Heard With Substantive Appeal From the New South Wales Supreme Court; Leave Granted and Appeal Dismissed
Outcome
Leave to appeal granted; appeal dismissed; matter remitted to the President of the Personal Injury Commission; each party to bear its own costs of the appeal.
Legal Topics
['medical Assessment of Permanent Impairment' 'construction of Consent Orders' 'estoppel Arising From Certificate of Determination' 'jurisdiction of Medical Assessor' 'demonstrable Error in Medical Assessment Certificate' 'remittal to Personal Injury Commission']
['workers Compensation' 'administrative Law' 'civil Procedure'] ['medical Assessment of Permanent Impairment' 'construction of Consent Orders' 'estoppel Arising From Certificate of Determination' 'jurisdiction of Medical Assessor' 'demonstrable Error in Medical Assessment Certificate' 'remittal to Personal Injury Commission']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Workers Compensation Appeal From Judicial Review Decision / Application for Leave to Appeal Heard With Substantive Appeal From the New South Wales Supreme Court; Leave Granted and Appeal Dismissed

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the primary judge erred as to the proper construction of the Certificate of Determination and the ambit of the estoppel arising from orders 1 and 5.' 'Whether common law principles of causation permitted the Medical Assessor to include impairment from aggravation and exacerbation resulting from Post 5 December 2018 Work-related Issues.' "Whether the Medical Assessor excluded from consideration aggravation and exacerbation of Mr Wright's injury resulting from Post 5 December 2018 Work-related Issues." 'What relief should be ordered following the finding of demonstrable error.']

Ratio Decidendi

On the proper construction of the Certificate of Determination, Mr Wright and the State agreed that Mr Wright was not entitled to compensation under the Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW) in respect of the claimed aggravation and exacerbation of his psychological condition by reason of Post 5 December 2018 Work-related Issues. That issue was resolved by orders 1 and 5, so causation principles had no further work to do. The Medical Assessor did not exclude those post-5 December 2018 work-related matters from the permanent impairment assessment, and the Medical Assessment Certificate therefore contained a demonstrable error. The Appeal Panel erred in confirming it, but the appeal from the...

Court Disposition

Leave to appeal granted; appeal dismissed; matter remitted to the President of the Personal Injury Commission; each party to bear its own costs of the appeal.

Orders

  • ['Leave to appeal is granted.' 'The appeal is dismissed.' "In addition to the orders made by Basten AJ, the State of New South Wales' appeal against the decision of the Medical Assessor dated 16 August 2022 is remitted to the President of the Personal Injury Commission either for referral under s 329 of the...