31 Jan 2018
Court was satisfied on the evidence, including the claimant's prior acknowledgement and historical transaction records, that a lump sum payment was made in 1977 and therefore the corresponding ~33% impairment had to be deducted from the combined whole person impairment under s377(3)(b); accordingly the Corporation's calculation was lawful and the appeal was dismissed.
31 Mar 2016
The District Court held that the WPI assessment by a qualified assessor was valid, that after deducting the prior 15% lump sum the appellant's WPI fell below the 10% statutory threshold for an independence allowance, and that no contrary expert evidence was produced; therefore the appeal failed.
11 Jul 2013
Because prior lump sum percentages derived from statutorily prescribed scales under the 1972 and 1982 Acts, s377(3)(b) requires those percentages to be deducted from the combined whole-person impairment as stated; they are not to be recombined using the AMA guides combining formula, and the Court must follow the Court of Appeal decision in Fenemor.
18 Dec 2012
Leave to appeal was granted because a question of law exists: whether the deduction mandated by section 377(3)(b) applies where the prior entitlement arose under section 60 (weekly payments) rather than section 78 (lump sum), and that question is appropriate for determination by the High Court.
1 May 2012
The application did not disclose any arguable error of law under section 162 because the applicant only re‑argued factual matters and presented no contrary medical evidence; therefore leave to appeal to the High Court is refused.
9 Feb 2012
Dr Wright's combined WPI assessment of 37% was accepted and, after deducting the prior combined lump sum percentage of 38.2% received under the 1982 Act, no residual Whole Person Impairment remained; therefore the appellant had no entitlement to an Independence Allowance and the appeal was dismissed.
8 Mar 2011
The Reviewer erred in law by combining pre-1 July 1999 impairments with a post-1 July 1999 impairment; statutory scheme requires pre-1999 injuries to be combined and treated separately from injuries suffered between 1 July 1999 and 1 April 2002, therefore the Reviewer's decision is quashed and the primary decisions reinstated.
27 Jan 2011
Section 377, as amended 1 July 2005, requires that the combined Whole Person Impairment for all covered injuries before 1 July 1999 be assessed and that any previously paid lump sum percentage be deducted from that combined percentage; applying that to the facts (combined 20% minus previously paid 20%) yields 0% and no entitlement to an Independence Allowance.
18 Aug 2010
Section 377(3)(b) must be applied by deducting the prior lump sum percentage figures (as calculated under the 1972 and 1982 Acts) from the combined whole-person impairment; the respondent correctly deducted the sum of prior lump sum percentages from the combined WPI and the appeal is dismissed.
23 Dec 2009
Because the statute requires deducting the prior lump sum percentage from the AMA-assessed Whole Person Impairment, and 29% less 36% yields no remaining impairment at or above the 10% threshold, the appellant was not entitled to an Independence Allowance and the Corporation's decision was correct.