New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Rehabilitation completeness

Legal area

Court

31 Mar 2014

Haworth v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2014] NZACC 84
Court

District Court

The VIMA was materially inadequate because it failed to assess the impact of the appellant's longstanding PTSD and the specific effect of anxiety related to the impending hip surgery (and related fatigue, sleep disturbance and medication) on his ability to work 30+ hours/week; that inadequacy was material to the vocational independence finding, therefore the decision of 16 November 2010 and the review decision were quashed and the appellant was not vocationally independent as at November 2010.
21 Oct 2011

Elliott v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2011] NZACC 307
Court

District Court

Leave to appeal was refused because the applicant failed to identify any question of law capable of serious argument; the issues raised were matters of fact and weight of evidence which the Judge was entitled to decide, and the evidence did not demonstrate irrationality or legal error; depression alleged was not shown to be related to the covered injury and thus was not legally relevant to vocational independence.
8 Mar 2011

Taffs v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2011] NZACC 73
Court

District Court

The Court found the occupational assessment appropriately matched the claimant's transferable skills and the medical assessment properly accounted for chronic pain and did not find clinically significant depression at the time of assessment; because assessments reflect the claimant's condition at the time, the respondent's decision of 8 May 2008 confirming vocational independence in the nine work-types was correct and the appeal was dismissed.

New Zealand Case Law

Haworth v Accident Compensation Corporation

Elliott v Accident Compensation Corporation

Taffs v Accident Compensation Corporation