New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Expert medical evidence

Legal area

Court

10 Oct 2023

DAVIES v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2023] NZHC 2831

Citation

[2023] NZHC 2831
Court

High Court

The appeal is dismissed because the Judge correctly found insufficient evidence that the appellant's uncontrolled diabetes impaired his cognition at the time of the offence; the expert could not establish impairment at the relevant time, contemporaneous police evidence undermined the claim of observable symptoms, and even if symptoms existed a reasonable person in the appellant's position would have recognized being unwell and refrained from driving, so absence of fault was not established.
18 Nov 2019

MORGAN v R [2019] NZCA 565

Citation

[2019] NZCA 565
Court

Court of Appeal

The proposed GP evidence was neither fresh nor sufficiently cogent to undermine the complainant's evidence or render the convictions unsafe; the absence of that evidence at trial did not produce a miscarriage of justice, and the sentencing starting point and discounts were within acceptable range so the convictions and seven-year effective sentence must stand.
18 Jul 2019

Simpson v Accident Compensation Corporation (Gradual Process)

Citation

[2019] NZACC 82
Court

District Court

The Judge accepted the orthopaedic surgeon's contemporaneous assessments and operative findings, together with the appellant's initial symptom report and GP notes, as establishing on the balance of probabilities that the appellant suffered an acute tibialis posterior tendon injury in the 13 May 2017 trampoline accident and that the condition requiring surgery was not caused wholly or substantially by a gradual process; accordingly the ACC decision to decline funding was wrong and reversed.
11 Jul 2019

Hampson v Accident Compensation Corporation (Work Related Gradual Process Injury)

Citation

[2019] NZACC 76
Court

District Court

On the balance of probabilities the Court found that (a) the appellant's fencing tasks involved the particular characteristic of repetitive heavy lifting and carrying, (b) that characteristic contributed to the cause of his L5/S1 spinal pathology despite an acute traumatic fall, and (c) the risk of suffering the personal injury was significantly greater for persons performing those employment tasks; accordingly the s30 test was satisfied and the ACC decline of cover was set aside.
26 Jun 2019

SCOTT v R [2019] NZCA 261

Citation

[2019] NZCA 261
Court

Court of Appeal

Trial counsel's decisions to not call the proposed experts and to elicit and present measurement evidence through the GP were reasonable tactical choices and not fundamental errors; the proposed fresh expert evidence would not have raised a reasonable doubt or led a different verdict; the sentencing Judge correctly assessed gravity and consequences so discharge without conviction was properly refused; suppression orders continue as directed.
23 Jan 2019

Vercoe v Accident Compensation Corporation (Funding for Surgery and Weekly Compensation)

Citation

[2019] NZACC 3
Court

District Court

On the balance of probabilities the Court was satisfied the covered neck sprain substantially caused the incapacity and need for treatment (including surgery) despite pre-existing multi-level degenerative change; accordingly ACC's decision to decline weekly compensation and surgery and to suspend entitlements was set aside and entitlements reinstated and backdated.
8 Nov 2018

Olsen v Accident Compensation Corporation (Claim for Cover)

Citation

[2018] NZACC 180
Court

District Court

The appeal was dismissed because the evidence before the Court was insufficient to establish on the balance of probabilities that the 9 August 2003 assault caused the claimed post‑concussion syndrome and adjustment disorder; there was significant evidence of pre‑existing symptoms and independent medical causes, conflicting expert opinions were resolved in favour of the neurosurgical evidence which was more comprehensive, and the claimant refused further recommended specialist assessments that could have addressed causal nexus.
14 Jun 2018

Gilkison v Accident Compensation Corporation (Work Related Gradual Process)

Citation

[2018] NZACC 88
Court

District Court

The Court preferred the opinion of Dr Walker that degenerative lumbar changes were primarily due to ageing and genetic factors and that occupational exposures, at best, played a minor role; the appellant did not prove on the balance of probabilities that his employment tasks had the particular properties required by s30 or that the risk was significantly greater for persons performing those tasks, therefore the reviewer's endorsement of ACC's decline of the work-related gradual process claim was upheld.
20 Feb 2018

Karmarkar v Accident Compensation Corporation (Treatment Injury)

Citation

[2018] NZACC 41
Court

District Court

There was no failure by the surgeon to arrange additional pre-operative assessments or to consider non-surgical options; the intra-operative decision to place a cholecystostomy tube was a prudent response to complex pathology and did not cause a compensable treatment injury under ss 32–33 of the Accident Compensation Act 2001, therefore the appeal is dismissed.
16 Feb 2018

R v BRACKENRIDGE [2018] NZHC 164

Citation

[2018] NZHC 164
Court

High Court

The application to dismiss the murder charge was refused because, taken at its highest for the Crown, the combination of the pathologist's findings (no anatomical cause, absence of soot and low carboxyhemoglobin but inability to exclude strangulation/smothering/flash burns), the timeline and movements (CCTV, banking/ATM withdrawals, petrol purchase), neighbour's observation of the defendant entering the unit then immediate fire and fleeing, accelerant on the defendant's clothing, and the defendant's writings and statements provided an evidential foundation from which a properly directed jury…