State of New South Wales v Goonan [2020] NSWWCCPD
28
A recent decision of Deputy President Wood has examined the
relationship between work injuries and subsequent aggravations that
do not occur at work.
Background:
Mr Goonan was employed as a police officer, working in the
Tactical Operations Unit and then later in the Police Prosecutions
Division. He suffered an injury to his back as a consequence of his
work related duties in both those roles, which was deemed to have
occurred on 17 August 2015.
That claim was accepted, with weekly compensation and medical
expenses paid by the workers compensation insurer.
Mr Goonan subsequently continued to work in his position as a
prosecutor before two incidents in early 2019 forced him off work
and led to major surgery.
