10 Nov 2016
On the balance of probabilities the weight of medical evidence shows the need for surgery is attributable to underlying degenerative lumbar disease and not causally related to the 9 April 2011 accident; accordingly ACC's decision to decline funding is upheld and the appeal is dismissed.
28 Nov 2013
The appeal is dismissed because the appellant failed to produce expert medical evidence or objective factual evidence demonstrating that the 16% WPI assessment was flawed or that there was a patent omission; the Court will not substitute its judgment for medical experts applying the AMA Guides.
6 May 2010
The Court accepted the assessment of the qualified occupational medicine assessor (Dr Turner) that the appellant had capacity for five identified light/sedentary work types and found no independent, cogent medical evidence demonstrating a manifest flaw in that assessment; accordingly, on the balance of probabilities ACC's 21 May 2008 decision was correct and the appeal was dismissed.
22 Aug 2008
The Court accepted the later accredited assessor's finding of crepitation which produced an increased whole-person impairment (18%); because Dr Fulton’s original assessment failed to recognise the crepitation component the original 14% assessment was set aside and replaced with an 18% WPI assessment, entitlement to lump sum to take effect from the date of Dr Fulton's assessment; this conforms to the principle that an assessor's report will only be displaced by cogent medical evidence of error or omission.
1 Oct 2007
The assessor's opinion was based on an unsafe diagnosis of schizoaffective/bipolar disorder; cogent evidence from treating specialists showed the psychotic features were attributable to PTSD and alcohol/substance misuse related to the accepted sexual abuse, so the psychotic disorder apportionment could not stand; accordingly the independence allowance assessment was set aside and a fresh psychiatric assessment ordered.
5 Mar 2004
In the absence of any clear and cogent expert evidence to the contrary, the Court must accept the assessor's impairment evaluation; Dr Turner's 50% impairment with 20% apportionment for non-injury factors resulting in a 30% whole person impairment is upheld and the appeal is dismissed.