New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Ordinary consequence test

Legal area

Court

2 Nov 2018

ACCIDENT COMPENSATION CORPORATION and “HK” v NG, “L” and ACCIDENT COMPENSATION CORPORATION [2018] NZHC 2848

Citation

[2018] NZHC 2848
Court

High Court

'Ordinary consequence' in s 32(1)(c) means a consequence that is more probable than not (over 50%) in the particular factual matrix assessed after the event; the enquiry is both qualitative and quantitative, statistics have an experiential role but must be used with care, there is no presumptive cover for injuries occurring during treatment, and in failure-to-treat cases Adlam preserves the need to establish departure from an accepted standard.
21 Oct 2014

Thompson v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2014] NZACC 270
Court

District Court

The court found that more than 6% of the appellant's binaural hearing loss was caused by cisplatin and that such loss was an ordinary consequence of the chemotherapy treatment; accordingly the treatment injury is excluded by s32(1)(c) and the appellant's claim failed.
8 Jul 2013

White v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2013] NZACC 189
Court

District Court

On the balance of probabilities the District Court found the 2006 midline laparotomy caused the claimant's incisional hernia and, having preferred the treating surgeons' direct clinical opinions over the ACC medical advisor, concluded the hernia was not a necessary part or ordinary consequence of the treatment in the claimant's particular circumstances; accordingly ACC's decline was quashed and cover ordered.
26 Oct 2012

Studman v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2012] NZACC 352
Court

District Court

On the evidence the applicant suffered untoward and excessive postoperative stiffness causally linked to the dupuytren's surgery; contemporaneous treating and independent surgical opinions described the result as 'poor' and 'an untoward degree of stiffness' beyond ordinary consequence; therefore the condition met the statutory definition of a treatment injury and ACC must cover it.

New Zealand Case Law

ACCIDENT COMPENSATION CORPORATION and “HK” v NG, “L” and ACCIDENT COMPENSATION CORPORATION [2018] NZHC 2848

Thompson v Accident Compensation Corporation

White v Accident Compensation Corporation

Studman v Accident Compensation Corporation