New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments | LexChat

Topic

Adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder)

Legal area

Court

21 Sept 2017

Hegglun v Accident Compensation Corporation (Treatment Injury)

Citation

[2017] NZACC 116
Court

District Court

The appellant failed to prove on the balance of probabilities that the coronary bypass surgery caused his adhesive capsulitis; the evidence at best hypothesised a temporal association without an explained mechanism, and the appellant's underlying ischaemic heart disease is a relevant risk factor so cover is excluded under s32(2)(a).
17 Jul 2015

Ryan v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2015] NZACC 203
Court

District Court

The Court accepted CAP's analysis over the treating surgeon's theory: given the low‑energy mechanism, absence of imaging evidence of traumatic tendon or bony injury or inflammatory response, and the medical literature that trauma is not usually causative, the appellant failed to prove on the balance of probabilities that the frozen shoulder was caused by the 14 October 2013 accident; therefore ACC's decline to fund MUA was upheld.