New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments | LexChat

Topic

Degenerative disease exclusion (s26)

Legal area

Court

7 Jul 2015

Franicevic v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2015] NZACC 190
Court

District Court

On the balance of probabilities the medical and radiological evidence establishes longstanding degenerative osteoarthritis producing degenerative meniscal pathology; the 25 November 2011 accident rendered that pathology symptomatic but did not cause it, therefore the review decision upholding decline of cover for surgery was correct and the appeal is dismissed.
14 Aug 2012

Aster v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2012] NZACC 276
Court

District Court

Because cover for the 2005 neck injury and C5-7 fusion was established, and the evidence supported a real causal link whereby the covered injury and its surgical treatment contributed to adjacent segment pathology at C4/5, the need for the 2010 surgery was caused in some degree by the covered 2005 injury and was not shown to be wholly or substantially caused by pre-existing degeneration; accordingly ACC must fund the C4/5 surgery.