In Cram Fluid Power Pty Ltd v Green
[2014] NSWCA 250, the NSW Court of Appeal considered whether section 66(1A) of the Workers Compensation Act NSW 1987 (“the Act”) applied to prevent workers from making a further claim for lump sum compensation on or after 19 June 2012, where a worker had previously made a claim for compensation prior to 19 June 2012 relating to the same injury, which had resolved.
The NSW Court of Appeal unanimously held that section 66 (1A) of the Act applied to prevent a worker from making a further claim for lump sum compensation for an injury that the worker had previously claimed and resolved.
Therefore, workers who had made a claim that resolved prior to 19 June 2012 were prevented from making a further claim for lump sum compensation for the same injury on or after 19 June 2012. The pre-19 June 2012 claim was considered to be the one and only claim for lump sum compensation that workers could make pursuant to section 66 (1A) of the Act, provided that the claim had resolved whether by complying agreement or by the issuing of a Medical Assessment Certificate.
On 13 November 2015 the Workers Compensation Amendment (Lump Sum Compensation Claims) Regulation 2015 was enacted in response to the Cram decision.
The amendment states that a worker is entitled to make one more further claim for lump sum compensation in relation to the same injury, provided the worker made a claim prior to 19 June 2012. Such workers are not subject to the 10% threshold, as stipulated in section 66(1) of the Act.
Accordingly, it means that workers who have previously resolved a claim for lump sum prior to 19 June 2012, are entitled to make one more further claim for lump sum compensation in relation to the same injury in the event that their condition has deteriorated. If you think that this applies to you, please contact our staff at Stacks Goudkamp for advice. To arrange a free, no-obligation assessment of your claim, call us on 1800 251 800 or alternatively, make an online enquiry.
Written by Samantha De Freitas.
Samantha De Freitas is a paralegal in Anna Tavianatos’s Practice Group. Samantha works on a variety of different compensation matters, including workers compensation claims, work injury damages claims, public liability claims and motor vehicle accident claims.
Disclaimer: The content contained in this publication does not constitute legal advice. If you wish to take action based on the content of this publication, we recommend that you seek legal advice.
