New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments | LexChat

Topic

Prematurity of assessment

Legal area

Court

29 May 2015

Crook v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2015] NZACC 123
Court

District Court

The correct legal test required the Corporation to ensure the claimant was likely to achieve vocational independence and that any outstanding vocational rehabilitation (not merely medical treatment) was complete before proceeding; vocational independence requires a work type to be both occupationally suitable (claimant can perform all tasks, including licensing/qualification requirements) and medically sustainable; because the VIOA recommended multiple overbroad or unqualified work types and the VIMA failed to address material medication effects, no work type was shown to be both occupational…
1 Nov 2013

Hutchins v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2013] NZACC 372
Court

District Court

The respondent's decision determining vocational independence was quashed because the assessment was premature and failed to give sufficient regard to the appellant's non‑working status and rehabilitation evidence indicating a need for graded return; the objective evidence did not establish capacity to sustain 35 or more hours per week in the identified work‑types as of the assessment date.