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ARTICLE · 28 APRIL 2013

Cards on the table, face up: Nowhere to hide for Worker's Compensation claims

Cooper Grace Ward
Cooper Grace Ward
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The judge noted that it seemed that the claimant's solicitor may have acted in a way contrary to the objects of the Act.

AustraliaEmployment and HR
Tony Park
Tony Park
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Schonell v Laspina, Trabucco & Co Pty Ltd [2013] QSC 90

This Supreme Court decision confirms that the test for reasonableness is forward-looking and cannot be considered with the aid of hindsight. The decision also provides that deliberately obtaining information in creative ways to avoid the operation of section 279 of the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld) is behaviour contrary to the objects of the Act.

The plaintiff was employed by the defendant as a block layer. He was injured when he stepped off the platform he had been working from onto a ladder. He alleged that when he placed his weight on a rung of the ladder, it 'shunted' and gave way. In attempting to return to the platform his left foot became caught on the lip of the second plank and he injured his left knee.

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