PI Alert
October 2009
Welcome to the October edition of Sparke Helmore's Personal Injury newsletter.
The PI Alert is a monthly publication bringing you recent national and state based developments in the areas of Personal Injury: Compensation, Commonwealth Compensation, CTP & Major Claims and Latent Diseases.
This month's feature articles include: Whether the Medical Assessment Service has the Jurisdiction to Determine Causation, Badawi v Nexon Asia Pacific Pty Limited trading as Commander Australia Pty Limited 2009 and Serious Injury Narrative Test Expanded.
Rhett Slocombe, National Team Leader
Whether the Medical Assessment Service has the Jurisdiction to Determine Causation
Ackling v QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited & Anor [2009] NSWSC 881
In Ackling v QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited & Anor [2009] NSWSC 881 (28 August 2009) the Supreme Court has held that the Medical Assessment Service (MAS) has jurisdiction to determine causation and that the certificate issued by the Medical Assessor is conclusive evidence as to whether the degree of permanent impairment caused by the motor accident is greater than 10%. Read more>
Grant Galvin
Partner, Sydney
Badawi v Nexon Asia Pacific Pty Limited trading as Commander Australia Pty Limited 2009
The New South Wales Court of Appeal has changed the interpretation to be applied to substantial contributing factor pursuant to s 9A of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 as amended. Badawi v Nexon Asia Pacific Pty Limited trading as Commander Australia Pty Limited 2009 (NSW CA324 8 October 2009). Read more>
Joanne Palamara
Partner, Sydney
Serious Injury Narrative Test Expanded
The narrative test prescribed by s 134AB of the Accident Compensation Act relevant to a serious injury application prescribes that a loss of a body function shall not be held to be serious unless the pain and suffering consequence or the loss of earning capacity consequence is, when judged by comparison with other cases in the relaying possible impairments or losses of a body function, may be fairly described as being more than significant or marked and as being at least very considerable. Read more>
James Johnson
Partner, Melbourne
