In the 18 April 2016 decision in Laratae v Dean's Pty
Ltd [2016] VSCA 71, the Court of Appeal
rejected a worker's argument that her employer was prevented
from re-arguing the issue of causation in a Magistrates' Court
proceeding, following a finding by the County Court that she had
suffered a compensable neck injury under s 134AB of the
Accident Compensation Act 1985.
The Court of Appeal's decision will have significant
implications for employers, workers and self-insurers.
- If a County Court judge hears a serious injury application and
finds that a worker does not have a compensable
injury, the worker will not be prevented from relying on the
rejected injury in a subsequent Magistrates' Court proceeding.
It is possible, therefore, for a worker to lose their serious
injury application on the basis that the injury claimed is not
work-related, but later succeed in establishing an entitlement to
statutory benefits for the same injury in the Magistrates'
Court.
