New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments | LexChat

Topic

Ageing/degeneration exclusion

Legal area

Court

7 Nov 2013

Drummond v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2013] NZACC 379
Court

District Court

On the balance of the medical and imaging evidence the rotator cuff tear was degenerative and pre-existed the 12 September 2009 event; temporal association alone does not establish causation; accordingly the Corporation was entitled to suspend entitlements under s117 and to decline cover for the tear under the Act, and the appeal is dismissed.
15 Sept 1997

Thompson v Accident Rehabilitation and Compensation Insurance Corporation

Citation

[1997] NZACC 181
Court

District Court

The court found the appellant had pre-existing lumbar spinal stenosis caused by degenerative change; the 12 May 1996 accident did not create or materially alter that condition but merely accelerated the onset of symptoms, so the injury was caused wholly or substantially by the ageing/degenerative process and is excluded from cover under s10(2)(a) of the Act.