New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Scope of cover

Legal area

Court

26 Jul 2017

Peters v Accident Compensation Corporation (Impairment Assessment)

Citation

[2017] NZACC 75
Court

District Court

The 2010 impairment assessment by Dr Cheesman was flawed because it was founded on an uncertain factual matrix regarding the scope of cover for the May 1986 injury (and the relationship of subsequent surgeries to that cover), which undermined the apportionment analysis; accordingly the 2010 decision is set aside and the Corporation is directed to determine the scope of the 1986 cover and whether the later lumbar fusion addressed a traumatic fracture or consequences of earlier surgery before reassessing entitlement.
12 Apr 2017

Nui v Accident Compensation Corporation (Funding for Surgery)

Citation

[2017] NZACC 41
Court

District Court

Appellant failed to prove on the balance of probabilities that the surgery treats a condition caused by the 27 January 2008 covered injury because contemporaneous x-ray imaging demonstrated medial degeneration predating the accident and the independent CAP medical opinion concluded no causal link; therefore ACC correctly declined to fund the surgery and the review decision was upheld.
30 Nov 2016

Wightman v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2016] NZACC 315
Court

District Court

WorkAon's decision was founded on a factual error by medical advisers who concluded the appellant's shoulder symptoms did not arise during employment; because the appellant did report shoulder symptoms contemporaneously with his employment the decision to decline shoulder cover cannot stand and must be quashed and remitted for further investigation to determine whether bursitis with impingement arose from work as a series of events or a gradual process under the Act.
23 Aug 2016

Turner v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2016] NZACC 233
Court

District Court

Leave to appeal was refused because no question of law capable of bona fide and serious argument was identified: the review restored entitlements so any appeal was moot; the reviewer did not make a binding finding revoking or limiting cover for mental injury; it is not the District Court's role to proscribe reviewer procedure under the ACC statutory scheme; and it was proper to decline to decide applicability of the Evidence Act to review hearings in absence of a live issue.
18 Nov 2015

Estate BR Nichols v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2015] NZACC 352
Court

District Court

The application for leave was dismissed because the questions advanced were factual determinations or not arguable questions of law: Judge Beattie properly considered the scope of cover, treated opiate dependency as excluded, accepted medical evidence that a pre-existing pain disorder principally explained incapacity, and suspension of weekly compensation was a factual assessment of causation rather than a legal error warranting leave to appeal.
17 Dec 2013

Curel v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2013] NZACC 410
Court

District Court

The Court held that the Corporation must extend cover to include vertebral instability at C2-3 (with vertebral artery impingement) and discogenic injury at C4-5 as causally linked to the 22 December 2008 accident; symptoms flowing from those injuries include neck pain, dizziness, headaches and blackouts; the question of cover for C6-7 is reserved for a further supplementary judgment.
8 Nov 2013

Omar v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2013] NZACC 350
Court

District Court

The court preferred the contemporaneous rheumatological and radiological evidence (Dr Lynch, Dr Reeves and related specialists) over the belated opinion of Dr Orr and the speculative opinions of non‑examining clinicians, found no persuasive causal link between the January 2008 accident and an ongoing traumatic knee condition, and therefore dismissed the appeal upholding the Corporation's determination that the knee condition was not accident‑related.
15 Aug 2013

Lonie v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2013] NZACC 250
Court

District Court

On the balance of probabilities the appellant failed to prove that he suffered a personal injury by accident during 1980 military training that causally produced an enduring incapacity: contemporaneous records only reliably show a foxhole twist, no contemporaneous record supports the alleged 12‑foot jump injury, and medical evidence more persuasively establishes a pre‑existing predisposition and gradual process rather than an enduring injury from a specific accident; therefore ACC's declinature and the reviewer’s decision were upheld and the appeal dismissed.
8 Aug 2013

Palmer v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2013] NZACC 237
Court

District Court

On the balance of probabilities the C3/4 myelopathy/myelomalacia was substantially caused by an ongoing degenerative process present before the fusion; any additional stress from the C5/6–C6/7 fusion operated as an aggravation or acceleration of that degeneration and does not attract cover under s26, therefore ACC was entitled to suspend entitlements and the appeal is dismissed.
15 May 2013

Shann v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2013] NZACC 137
Court

District Court

The appeal is dismissed insofar as it seeks to re-litigate claims previously considered and found not reviewable for lack of new evidence; however the specific allegation that treatment by Dr Orr in 2003 gave rise to a treatment injury had not previously been considered as a treatment injury claim and must be treated as a fresh claim for consideration by the respondent.