In Bona v Jeffries & Allianz Australia Insurance Limited [2021] QSC 84, the defendant insurer failed, on the basis of unreasonable delay, in its application to the Brisbane Supreme Court for an order that the plaintiff submit to an assessment by an occupational therapist over 12 months after the holding of the compulsory conference.
In the claim of Gray v Wagga Wagga City Council [2021] NSWDC 108, the plaintiff failed to prove negligence against the Wagga Wagga City Council after an automatic door at an airport closed and struck her, injuring her neck, left shoulder and back.
The Court of Appeal has increased the damages awarded to a truck driver who sustained a lower back injury at work to $967,000, highlighting that courts will be cautious in applying discounts to account for pre-existing medical conditions.
Manual handling injuries make up the largest cohort of workers’ compensation claims for serious injuries. They are also usually very difficult to defend because most employers do not keep good records about the training and supervision of safe manual handling practices.
The Industrial Court of Queensland has recently upheld a decision of Woolworths to reject a claim for compensation on the basis that it was a continuum of an earlier injury.
Often in slip and fall cases, claimants allege they must have slipped on a spillage, relying on nothing more than the fact they have slipped.
In Davies v Whitehaven Coal Mining Ltd [2019] NSW SC 1125, a mining company successfully defended a high quantum slip and fall claim by an underground miner.
In Deanne King v Workers’ Compensation Regulator [2019] QIRC 134, the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC) allowed a worker to lead ‘similar fact evidence’ in support of an appeal.
In this case, Mr Damon settled the claim with the defendants on the morning of trial. However, the trial proceeded to decide the apportionment between each of the defendants.
We recently reported that the second five yearly review of the Queensland Workers’ Compensation Scheme was nearing completion and that a Bill to introduce some of the review’s recommendations was expected.
In this New South Wales District Court decision, an employer was found liable for the deliberate actions of a manager who verbally and physically bullied the plaintiff over a period of 14 months.
In Ayre v Swan [2019] NSWCA 2020, the New South Wales Court of Appeal increased a contributory negligence finding to 80% because of the plaintiff’s grossly excessive speed.