Legal Bulletin No. 214
This bulletin was issued on 6 June 2025
Issued 6 June 2025
Welcome to the two hundred and fourteenth edition of the Personal Injury Commission’s Legal Bulletin. Please see here for details about the legal citations used for the Commission’s decisions. The decisions listed below are now available on AustLII and will be available shortly, on Jade and Lexis Nexis. Any legislative updates are provided at the base of the Bulletin.
Presidential Member Decisions
E A & B A Dixon Pty Ltd v Mills [2025] NSWPICPD 43
Workers compensation; Pre-Filing Statement struck out by order of the President; sections 151DA(3) and 151DA(4) of the Workers Compensation Act 1987; State of New South Wales (NSW Police Force) v Adams [2024] NSWPICPD 82 considered and applied; Held – the respondent claimant’s Pre-Filing Statement filed 22 March 2021 is struck out pursuant to section 151DA(3) of the 1987 Act; each party is to bear its own costs of these proceedings.
Decision date: 26 May 2025 | Before: President Judge Phillips
A & A Arbor Tree Service Pty Ltd v Preiss [2025] NSWPICPD 44
Workers compensation; inability to establish service of Application to Strike Out a Pre-Filing Statement; sections 151D(2) and 151DA(1)(b) of the Workers Compensation Act 1987; Luke McCarthy [2008] NSWWCCPD 123 considered and applied; limitation period had expired prior to service of Pre-Filing Statement; Pre-Filing Statement struck out by order of the President; Held – the respondent claimant’s Pre-Filing Statement served 9 February 2023 is struck out pursuant to section 151DA(3) of the 1987 Act; each party is to bear its own costs of these proceedings, including this application.
Decision date: 27 May 2025 | Before: President Judge Phillips
Workers compensation; finding of ‘injury’ pursuant to section 4(a) of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 where a finding pursuant to section 16 of that Act was arguably also available; application of Rail Services Australia v Dimovski [2004] NSWCA 267; 1 DDCR 648; error of fact within the meaning of section 352(5) of the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998; application of Raulston v Toll Pty Ltd [2011] NSWWCCPD 25; 10 DDCR 156 and associated authorities; Held – the appeal is dismissed; the Certificate of Determination dated 9 September 2024 is confirmed.
Decision date: 29 May 2025 | Before: Deputy President Michael Snell
Yousif v Cameron Sandy t/as Cameron Sandy Painting & Decorating [2025] NSWPICPD 46
Workers compensation; Procedural Direction WC3; requirement to identify how the purported error occurred; not an error to fail to address a submission not made; Brambles Industries Limited v Bell [2010] NSWCA 162; where the evidence is unreliable it is appropriate to look to the objective evidence to find corroborative evidence; Aluminium Louvres & Ceilings Pty Ltd v Zheng [2006] NSWCA 34; Ali v Nationwide News Pty Ltd [2008] NSWCA 183 (Ali) applied; whether error in a determination as to whether a person is a worker or deemed worker; section 4 of the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 (the 1998 Act) and clause 2 of Schedule 1 to the 1998 Act; application of factors identified in Malivanek v Ring Group Pty Ltd [2014] NSWWCCPD 4; Stevens v Brodribb Sawmilling Company Pty Limited [1986] HCA 1; Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union v Personnel Contracting Pty Ltd [2022] HCA 1 applied; Held – the name of the first respondent in the proceedings below and in the appeal is amended to read “Cameron Sandy t/as Cameron Sandy Painting & Decorating”; the appellant’s application to admit further documents is refused; the Member’s Certificate of Determination dated 19 August 2024 is confirmed.
Decision date: 29 May 2025 | Before: Deputy President Elizabeth Wood
Motor Accidents non-Presidential Member Decisions
Meng v Allianz Australia Insurance Limited [2025] NSWPIC 219
Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017; claim for statutory benefits; whether claimant was wholly or mostly at fault; claimant pedestrian crossing a narrow suburban street on a crest and blind corner near her home; claimant took a step on the roadway and was hit by the wing mirror of a car driving at the speed limit on a narrow road; no expert evidence; assessment on the papers; Held – applying the approach in AAI Limited t/as GIO v Evic; claimant contributed to the accident and was partly at fault; the insured breached her duty of care to the claimant; the claimant’s contributory negligence was assessed at 80%; costs allowed at the regulated sum of $2,191.20 inclusive of GST; cases referred to; Allianz Australia Limited v Shuk regarding relative culpability; Axiak v Ingram, and Davis v Swift regarding assessment of contributory negligence; Manley v Alexander, Stocks v Baldwin, and Derrick v Cheung regarding contributory negligence of pedestrians.
Decision date: 21 May 2025 | Member: Belinda Cassidy
AAI Limited t/as GIO v Padovan [2025] NSWPIC 230
Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017; settlement approval; 30-year-old man riding a motor cycle when hit by the insured driver injuring his foot and ankle and left knee; claimant underwent two surgical procedures; left with significant scarring and restrictions; claimant working on movie sets at the time of the accident; unable to return to this line of work; after recovery now working as an IT assistant; initial proposed settlement offer made no allowance for non-economic loss; referred to the Commission for assessment of WPI; result claimant entitled to damages for non-economic loss which substantially increased the proposed settlement offer; allowance for past and future economic loss; Held – settlement approved under section 6.23(2)(b) in the sum of $600,000.
Decision date: 27 May 2025 | Member: Elyse White
BRY v Allianz Australia Insurance Limited [2025] NSWPIC 231
Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (MAI Act); Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999 (MAC Act); claimant was travelling on a government bus; public transport accident within the meaning of section 121(1) of the Transport Administration Act 1988; damages to be assessed under the MAC Act; McTye v Ching Yu Chang by his Tutor Leo Alexander Birch applied; contributory negligence alleged in circumstances of a no fault accident; correct test for contributory negligence in a no fault accident claim; Axiak v Ingram considered and applied; physical injuries and psychiatric/psychological injuries; long history of pre-existing conditions to the same body systems injured in the motor accident; no entitlement to non-economic loss; assessment of claim for past and future economic loss; consideration and application of section 126 of the MAC Act; Malec v Hutton Pty Ltd, Watts v Rake, Purkiss v Crittenden, Medlin v State Government Insurance Commission, Husher v Husher, and Penrith City Council v Parks considered; Held – claimant had not departed from the standard of care she was required to observe; insurer failed to discharge its onus of proving contributory negligence on the part of the claimant; claimant is entitled to damages for past and future economic loss.
Decision date: 28 May 2025 | Member: Anthony Scarcella
Workers Compensation non-Presidential Member Decisions
Roukos v Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd [2025] NSWPIC 221
Workers Compensation Act 1987; claim for permanent impairment compensation pursuant to section 66; injury to the lumbar spine not disputed; dispute as to injury to the right shoulder and consequential condition in the form of a sleep disorder; Kooragang Cement Pty Ltd v Bates, Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Parramatta v Brennan, Moon v Conmah Pty Limited, and State of New South Wales v Bishop cited; Held – award for the respondent in respect to the alleged injury to the right shoulder; applicant has suffered the alleged consequential condition in the form of a sleep disorder.
Decision date: 21 May 2025 | Member: John Turner
Ovens v WITS Holdings Pty Ltd [2025] NSWPIC 222
Workers Compensation Act 1987; claim for lump sum compensation for the lumbar and thoracic spine, and left shoulder; no dispute regarding lumbar spine injury; whether the applicant sustained a frank injury to the thoracic spine and left shoulder in workplace events; dispute between current recollection of events and contemporaneous materials; Held – worker suffered injury to his thoracic spine; award respondent for the injury to the left upper limb (left shoulder) as not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that there has been an injury; no evidence of sudden or identifiable pathological change; Kennedy Cleaning Services Pty Ltd v Petkovska; fallibility of memory; Watson v Foxman, and Onassis v Vergottis discussed; lumbar spine and thoracic spine impairment to be assessed by a Medical Assessor.
Decision date: 21 May 2025 | Member: Diana Benk
State of New South Wales (Ambulance Service of NSW) v Jamieson & Ors [2025] NSWPIC 223
Application in respect of death worker; whether first respondent was a ‘dependant’; definition of ‘de facto partner’ in section 21C of the Interpretation Act 1987; Held – first respondent was not a ‘dependant’; second and third respondents were dependants; orders for apportionment of lump sum death benefit, payment, and costs.
Decision date: 22 May 2025 | Member: Rachel Homan
Badman v State of New South Wales (South Western Sydney Local Health District) [2025] NSWPIC 224
Workers Compensation Act 1987; medical expenses and permanent impairment compensation; whether the effects of an accepted right knee injury were ongoing and causative of the need for a total knee replacement; applicant suffered a right knee injury in the nature of an aggravation to underlying, non-work-related pathology; whether the effects of that aggravation were ongoing at the time the applicant underwent a total knee replacement; if so whether the aggravation made a material contribution to the requirement for that surgery; Held – the effects of the injury were ongoing at the time of the total knee replacement; the injury materially contributed to the need for the surgery; the respondent is to pay the costs of and incidental to the surgery and other claimed medical expenses; the claim for permanent impairment is remitted to the President for referral to a Medical Assessor to determine the applicant’s permanent impairment.
Decision date: 23 May 2025 | Member: Cameron Burge
Taesali v CHEP Australia Ltd [2025] NSWPIC 227
Workers Compensation Act 1987; claim for weekly benefits, surgery, and section 60 expenses by worker with a 10-year history of hard work; whether right shoulder injured in face of respondent medical expert saying that injury not work-related; whether the right knee had been injured in the face of the respondent medical expert’s view that injury and pathology not work-related; whether applicant’s expert infringed the principles of expert evidence; Held – respondent expert opinion rejected as he did not consider the question of aggravation of the underlying pathology in the knee; expert had not seen recent MRI of the shoulder which showed relevant pathology; generally the respondent expert failed to explain his opinions; consequential back injury not considered by respondent expert; reliance on clinical notes not helpful to respondent; Mason v Demasi, and Qannadian v Bartter Enterprises Pty Limited considered and applied; applicant expert evidence preferred; ACW v ACX considered and applied; award applicant on all claims.
Decision date: 26 May 2025 | Member: John Wynyard
Konemann v Southside Staffing Solutions Pty Ltd [2025] NSWPIC 228
Workers Compensation Act 1987; claim for compensation for medical treatment pursuant to section 60; accepted work injuries to applicant’s bilateral wrists, bilateral knees, and left shoulder sustained in a fall; accepted consequential conditions of the right knee and the lumbar spine; applicant claimed compensation for cost of various past and future treatment; whether the applicant sustained a consequential condition of the right hip; whether the various claimed treatment was reasonably necessary as a result of the accepted injuries; Held – the applicant sustained a consequential condition of her right hip as a result of the accepted injuries; the various claimed past and future treatment were reasonably necessary as a result of the accepted injuries.
Decision date: 27 May 2025 | Member: Karen Garner
Simpson v State of New South Wales (NSW Police Force) [2025] NSWPIC 229
Workers Compensation Act 1987; claim for weekly payments of compensation and medical expenses; accepted psychological condition caused by workplace events; perception of workplace events; whether workplace events were real; section 4(b); section 11A(3); principles in Attorney General’s Department v K considered and applied; Held – applicant discharged onus of proof that real workplace events (actual or perceived) caused her psychological injury; award for the applicant.
Decision date: 27 May 2025 | Member: Kathryn Camp
Motor Accidents Medical Review Panel Decisions
AAI Limited t/as AAMI v Hamann [2025] NSWPICMP 286
Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017; review of Medical Assessment Certificate (MAC); dispute related to the assessment of whole person impairment (WPI) of facial scarring; mouth; misshaped bottom lip; injury to upper palate and bone structure; scarring to leg and ankle; Medical Assessor assessed 2% WPI for facial scarring and 5% WPI for impact on mastication; Held – 2% WPI for facial scarring; 2% WPI for leg and ankle scarring; alveolar fracture completely healed; as per clause 6.196 of the Motor Accident Guidelines no loss of structural integrity as a result of a dental injury and no assessable impairment; MAC revoked.
Decision date: 28 April 2025 | Panel Members: Member Susan McTegg, Dr Geoffrey (Paul) Curtin, and Dr John Giles | Injury module: Lower Limb, Facial Injury and Impairment, and Ear, Nose, Throat and Related Structures
Beveridge v Insurance Australia Limited t/as NRMA Insurance [2025] NSWPICMP 358
Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017; review of Medical Assessment Certificate (MAC); permanent impairment dispute; claimant was driving a school bus when a car came from the right and hit the driver’s side at speed; injury to lumbar spine; pre-existing history of a workplace fall with symptoms persisting; subsequent incident of left leg weakness causing a fall and injuring right shoulder; assessed by Medical Assessor as 11% whole person impairment (WPI); Held – Review Panel noted pre-existing back symptoms had substantially resolved by the time of the motor accident and claimant had returned to work; motor accident aggravated claimant’s underlying lumbar spine degenerative disease; associated neurological symptoms in the left leg caused subsequent fall; consequential injury to right shoulder related to motor accident; Review Panel found impairment to lumbar spine 5% WPI and right shoulder 6% WPI; total WPI was 11%; MAC revoked.
Decision date: 22 May 2025 | Panel Members: Member Jeremy Lum, Dr Les Barnsley, and Dr Clive Kenna | Injury module: Spine, and Upper Limb
Allianz Australia Insurance Limited v Meilak [2025] NSWPICMP 359
Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017; review of Medical Assessment Certificate (MAC); threshold injury dispute; claimant’s car was stationary when hit from behind by another car at speed; MRI showed an L5/S1 disc extrusion; assessed by Medical Assessor as not a threshold injury; pre-existing lumbar spine symptoms with CT and x-rays showing degenerative change and spondylosis; issues narrowed by Review Panel to consideration of lumbar spine injury only; Held – Review Panel found MRI taken shortly after motor accident showing a large L5/S1 disc extrusion; more likely than not to be detected in pre-accident CT scan if present; claimant had excruciatingly positive straight leg test found by a number of examiners post-accident; Review Panel found, on balance, that the L5/S1 disc extrusion was causally related to the motor accident and is not a threshold injury; MAC confirmed.
Decision date: 23 May 2025 | Panel Members: Member Jeremy Lum, Dr Margaret Gibson, and Dr Shane Moloney | Injury module: Spine, and Upper Limb
AAI Limited t/as AAMI v Popovic [2025] NSWPICMP 364
Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999; review of Medical Assessment Certificate (MAC); degree of permanent impairment dispute; claimant was the seat-belted driver of a Mitsubishi truck delivering construction materials; insured crossed onto the incorrect side of the road and slid towards the claimant’s truck; claimant braked but the insured vehicle struck the right front side of the truck; claimant’s airbags did not deploy; claimant has a poor recollection of events thereafter; claimant complained of pain in his neck, chest, and upper back; plain x-rays of his cervical spine, thoracic spine, and chest revealed no fractures; following day claimant awoke with increased pain in his neck and pain in his mid-back going into his low back; claimant reports that the pain in his neck radiated into both shoulders; claimant was not referred for specialist treatment and has had some psychological treatment; Held – MAC revoked.
Decision date: 26 May 2025 | Panel Members: Member Gary Victor Patterson, Dr Sharon Reutens, and Dr Melissa Barrett | Injury module: Mental and Behavioural
QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited v Wardah [2025] NSWPICMP 366
Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017; review of Medical Assessment Certificate (MAC); insurer’s application; review of permanent impairment assessment greater than 10%; insurer denies accident nexus with all referred injuries being cervical and lumbar spine with bilateral shoulders; denial based on scans showing degeneration and injury in referred parts and medico-legal specialist opinion on accident mechanism; Medical Assessor found all injuries had causal nexus with accident and assessed 17% permanent impairment; re-examination; credit; Held – Review Panel was satisfied that the accident caused or materially contributed to the referred injuries; contemporaneous complaints about neck, lower back, and bilateral shoulders; Review Panel assessed permanent impairment resulting in 11% permanent impairment; MAC revoked; new certificate issued.
Decision date: 26 May 2025 | Panel Members: Member Terence O’Riain, Dr Thomas Rosenthal, and Dr Clive Kenna | Injury module: Spine, and Upper Limb
Stanton v Insurance Australia Limited t/as NRMA Insurance [2025] NSWPICMP 369
Review of Medical Assessment Certificate (MAC); motorcycle struck by car; right leg deformity and bleeding; medial tibial plateau fracture; foot peg penetrated medial aspect of the knee; damage to saphenous nerve; scarring colour contrast with the surrounding areas; visible suture marks; Held –MAC revoked; permanent impairment assessed at 20%.
Decision date: 27 May 2025 | Panel Members: Member Hugh Macken, Dr Clive McKenna, and Dr Michael Couch | Injury module: Spine, Lower Limb, and Skin
Stepanov v Insurance Australia Limited t/as NRMA Insurance [2025] NSWPICMP 370
Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017; review of Medical Assessment Certificate (MAC); claimant suffered injury in a motor vehicle accident; Medical Assessor determined the claimant’s disputed treatment (right total hip replacement surgery) was not related to the injuries caused by the accident and was not reasonable and necessary in the circumstances; claimant lodged a dispute about treatment; Review Panel conducted its own examination; AAI Limited t/as AAMI v Phillips, Clampett v WorkCover Authority of NSW, Diab v NRMA Ltd, Allianz Australia Insurance Limited v Vella, Mahoney v J Kruschich (Demolitions) Pty Ltd, Craig v State of South Australia, Bugat v Fox, and Rodger v De Gelder applied; Held – MAC confirmed.
Decision date: 27 May 2025 | Panel Members: Member Terence Stern OAM, Dr David Gorman, and Dr Tai-Tak Wan | Treatment Type: Surgery
Workers Compensation Medical Appeal Panel Decisions
Fontez v SYC Ltd [2025] NSWPICMP 353
Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998; review of Medical Assessment Certificate (MAC); appellant submits that the Medical Assessor (MA) erred in his assessments under two categories of the psychiatric impairment rating scale (PIRS) namely self -care and personal hygiene, and social functioning; appellant submits that the MA further erred in the deduction made pursuant to section 323; Held – re-examination required; errors made; MAC revoked.
Decision date: 17 April 2025 | Panel Members: Member Deborah Moore, Dr Douglas Andrews, and Dr Michael Hong | Body system: Psychological/Psychiatric
Smart v C.T Morrison & J.A Morrison & T.C Morrison t/as TC Morrison Partnership [2025] NSWPICMP 354
Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998; review of Medical Assessment Certificate (MAC); section 323; Cole v Wenaline Pty Limited, and Elcheikh v Diamond Formwork (NSW) Pty Ltd (in Liq) applied; worker’s injury aggravation of a disease due to nature and conditions of employment; Southwell v Qantas Airways Limited discussed; Cullen v Woodbrae Holdings Pty Ltd applied; no evidence of a “relevant date” at which pre-existing condition existed to contribute to impairment; Held – MAC revoked.
Decision date: 21 May 2025 | Panel Members: Member Parnel McAdam, Dr Roger Pillemer, and Dr James Bodel | Body system: Cervical Spine, Thoracic Spine, and Lumbar Spine
Department of Communities and Justice v Virtue [2025] NSWPICMP 355
Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998; review of Medical Assessment Certificate (MAC); appellant employer submits that Medical Assessor (MA) erred in application of section 323 having regard to previous injuries and operations to the left knee and right ankle; previous Appeal Panel subject to judicial review by Supreme Court; consideration of observations made in the decision of the Supreme Court as to whether all consequential impairments should not be subject at least to the deduction attaching to the primary injury to the right knee; Held – MA was in error by not providing adequate reasons for the one-tenth deductions for the assessment of impairment of the consequential conditions affecting the left knee and right ankle; re-examination required; MAC revoked; new certificate issued.
Decision date: 21 May 2025 | Panel Members: Member John Isaksen, Dr Drew Dixon, and Dr Alan Home | Body system: Right Lower Extremity, Left Lower Extremity, and Scarring
Rheem Australia Pty Ltd v Erbil [2025] NSWPICMP 356
Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998; review of Medical Assessment Certificate (MAC); whether demonstrable error or incorrect application of criteria arising from failure to consider previous injury to the lumbar spine and appellant’s independent expert’s reports in making an assessment for the purposes of section 323; Held – demonstrable error found owing to Medical Assessor’s failure to confine himself to the terms of the medical dispute referred for assessment and in failing to demonstrate that he had regard to relevant expert reports; one-tenth deduction for previous injury applied; MAC revoked.
Decision date: 22 May 2025 | Panel Members: Member Rachel Homan, Dr Drew Dixon, and Dr Tommasino Mastroianni | Body system: Cervical Spine, Lumbar Spine, and Scarring (TEMSKI)
Lazarus v Connor Clothing Pty Ltd [2025] NSWPICMP 357
Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998; review of Medical Assessment Certificate (MAC); on remitter from Supreme Court; deduction for pre-existing psychiatric condition; whether Appeal Panel should adopt Medical Assessor assessment of pre-existing whole person impairment (WPI) or make its own assessment; Held – Appeal Panel should make its own assessment of pre-existing WPI; MAC revoked; new certificate issued.
Decision date: 22 May 2025 | Panel Members: Member Richard Perrignon, Dr Graham Blom, and Dr Michael Hong | Body system: Psychological/Psychiatric
Capital One Real Estate Pty Ltd v Campbell [2025] NSWPICMP 360
Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998; review of Medical Assessment Certificate (MAC); assessment of psychiatric rating scales (PIRS) namely self-care and personal hygiene, social and recreational activities, travel, and concentration, persistence and pace; whether Medical Assessor (MA) erred in assessing class 3 impairment; whether MA erred in assessing class 2 impairment in respect of social functioning; whether MA omitted to provide reasons for finding whole person impairment (WPI); Held – findings did not support assessments of impairment in respect of self-care and personal hygiene, social and recreational activities, travel, and social functioning; reasons were not insufficient; Appeal Panel reassessed impairment in respect of self-care and personal hygiene, social and recreational activities, travel, and social functioning; resulting in a total WPI of 22%; MAC revoked; new certificate issued.
Decision date: 23 May 2025 | Panel Members: Member Richard Perrignon, Dr Michael Hong, and Dr Douglas Andrews | Body system: Psychological/Psychiatric
Halliday v MRVL Investment Pty Ltd [2025] NSWPICMP 361
Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998; review of Medical Assessment Certificate (MAC); referral for assessment of the thoracic spine and lumbar spine as a result of an injury; Medical Assessor (MA) decided that there was no injury to the lumbar spine and made no assessment of the lumbar spine; Held – Appeal Panel satisfied that MA had no jurisdiction to determine injury of the lumbar spine and made a demonstrable error in not making an assessment of the lumbar spine; MAC revoked.
Decision date: 23 May 2025 | Panel Members: Member Carolyn Rimmer, Dr Drew Dixon, and Dr David Gorman | Body system: Thoracic Spine, and Lumbar Spine
M R Waterproofing Technicians Pty Ltd v Kanozi [2025] NSWPICMP 362
Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998; review of Medical Assessment Certificate (MAC); appeal by employer from MAC finding of 19% for psychiatric injury; whether Medical Assessor (MA) erred by not considering whether any secondary psychiatric injury should be deducted; whether MA erred in assessment of self-care and hygiene class 2 rating and employability class 5 rating; Held – the referral was deficient and did not in turn instruct the MA to make a deduction for any secondary psychiatric injury; Skates v Hills Industries Ltd referred to and applied; worker re-examined by Appeal Panel; found that the secondary psychological injury of persistent depressive disorder was so intermingled with the primary post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) injury that it could not be isolated; ETM Projects Pty Ltd v Gregorgiou considered; Ausgrid Management Pty Ltd v Fisk considered and applied; self-care and hygiene category rating reduced to class 1; employability rating confirmed; MAC revoked and 17% substituted.
Decision date: 23 May 2025 | Panel Members: Member John Wynyard, Dr John Lam-Po-Tang, and Dr Michael Hong | Body system: Psychological/Psychiatric
Ninopoulos v Secretary, Department of Education [2025] NSWPICMP 371
Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998; review of Medical Assessment Certificate (MAC); whether the Medical Assessor’s (MA) ratings of the appellant’s impairment in all the psychiatric impairment rating scale (PIRS) categories (excepting social functioning) involved error; Held – the MA’s reasoning for his ratings of the appellant’s impairment in self-care and personal hygiene, social and recreational activities, and travel did not support his ratings; as a consequence the MAC contained a demonstrable error; appellant re-examined; MAC revoked.
Decision date: 27 May 2025 | Panel Members: Member Marshal Douglas, Dr Michael Hong, and Dr Graham Blom | Body system: Psychological/Psychiatric
Russo v Quality Air Equipment Pty Ltd [2025] NSWPICMP 372
Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998; review of Medical Assessment Certificate (MAC); the appellant submits that the Medical Assessor erred in making a 100% deduction for a previous/pre-existing injury to the lumbar spine and right hip; Held – Appeal Panel agreed; deduction was inconsistent with the evidence and other deductions he made; MAC revoked.
Decision date: 27 May 2025 | Panel Members: Member Deborah Moore, Dr Drew Dixon, and Dr Andrew Porteous | Body system: Left Lower Extremity, Right Lower Extremity, Lumbar Spine, and Scarring (TEMSKI)
Motor Accidents Merit Review Decision
Klironomos v Insurance Australia Limited t/as NRMA Insurance [2025] NSWPICMR 17
Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017; merit review matter; dispute about pre-accident weekly earnings (PAWE); insurer determined PAWE as nil; business operated by a company as trustee for trust; claimant issued invoices to company; concession that no evidence monies were paid in any form directly to the claimant or that he received earnings for the work he performed; claimant argued he constructively received earnings; Patton v Allianz Australia Insurance Limited (No 1), Gorrie v Allianz Australia Insurance Limited, Singh v Insurance Australia Limited t/as NRMA Insurance, Pal v Insurance Australia Limited t/as NRMA Insurance, and Liu v QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited followed; Held – claimant’s PAWE determined by reference to the gross earnings he received and not the earnings of the company; clause 4(1) Schedule 1 is concerned with actual earnings received not constructively received; claimant did not actually receive any earnings during the relevant period; PAWE assessed as nil; decision under review affirmed; orders made for payment of claimant and insurer’s costs.
Decision date: 28 May 2025 | Merit Reviewer: Brett Williams
This publication is for information only. The publication is not legal advice. The information provided is not a substitute for reading the decisions. The Commission does not accept liability for the information in this publication or for way the information is used.
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