Court supports CARS Assessor's brief reasons

Judgment date: 29 April 2011

Allianz Australia Insurance Limited v Kerr [2011] NSWSC 347

Supreme Court of NSW – Justice Hislop

In Brief

The opportunities for successfully challenging a CARS Assessment remain limited.

Background

The insurer sought to set aside the CARS decision of Assessor Cowley. The four grounds of error submitted by the insurer were that the Assessor:

1. rejected a causation finding of a MAS Assessor and either found the injury causally related to the subject accident or failed to state reasons on the issue;
2. awarded a buffer of $200,000 without explanation, reasoning or attempt to comply with the s 126 criteria;
3. awarded past care without addressing the statutory threshold and/or failed to state reasons for the award;