Howes v Comcare [2016] FCA 1521

Howes v Comcare [2016] FCA 1521

The AAT did not misconstrue s 16 of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (Cth). It correctly treated the required connection between the breast reduction surgery and the compensable injuries as an objective evaluative question to be determined by reference to all relevant evidence, including the...

Source-derived case information.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
14 December 2016
Procedural Posture
Appeal From the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Under S 44 of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (cth) / Federal Court Appeal From AAT Decision Affirming Comcare's Refusal of Compensation Under S 16 of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (cth)
Outcome
Appeal dismissed.
Legal Topics
['appeal From Administrative Appeals Tribunal on a Question of Law' 'medical Treatment Obtained in Relation to Compensable Injury' 'safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (cth) S 16' 'legal Unreasonableness' 'jones V Dunkel Principle']
['administrative Law' 'compensation' 'workers Compensation'] ['appeal From Administrative Appeals Tribunal on a Question of Law' 'medical Treatment Obtained in Relation to Compensable Injury' 'safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (cth) S 16' 'legal Unreasonableness' 'jones V Dunkel Principle']

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Procedural Posture

Appeal From the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Under S 44 of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (cth) / Federal Court Appeal From AAT Decision Affirming Comcare's Refusal of Compensation Under S 16 of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (cth)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether the AAT misconstrued s 16 of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (Cth) in holding that breast reduction surgery was not obtained in relation to the applicant's compensable injuries." 'Whether the words "in relation to the injury" in s 16 of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (Cth) have a purposive connotation dependent on the purpose or motivation of the employee or medical practitioners.' "Whether the AAT's decision was unreasonable in the legal sense because of its treatment of evidence concerning Dr Coyle, its alleged use of Jones v Dunkel reasoning, and its preference for Dr Maxwell's evidence."]

Ratio Decidendi

The AAT did not misconstrue s 16 of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (Cth). It correctly treated the required connection between the breast reduction surgery and the compensable injuries as an objective evaluative question to be determined by reference to all relevant evidence, including the nature of the injuries and the medical evidence. It was open to the AAT to prefer Dr Maxwell's evidence that the surgery could not have affected the symptoms of the compensable cervical and shoulder injuries, and the subjective purposes or beliefs of the applicant or her doctors were not determinative. The alleged errors concerning Dr Coyle, Jones v Dunkel, and the preference for...

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed.

Orders

  • ['The appeal be dismissed.' "The applicant pay the respondent's costs, as agreed or assessed."]