Ministry of Justice

Claim for deemed cover – ss 135, 146; claim for personal injury, ss 20, 25, 26, Accident Compensation Act 2001. Whether Reviewer was deemed to have made a decision in Appellant’s favour on basis that a review application was completed by Appellant’s GP and filed with Corporation but was not set down within three months. Whether injuries and inability to work were caused by Appellant’s accident. Deemed decision did not arise. Corporation correctly revoked and declined cover for Appellant’s pain in lumbar spine. Corporation correctly declined Appellant’s claim for weekly compensation. Corporation correctly declined cover for lumbar disc prolapse with radiculopathy in relation to accident. Outcome: appeal dismissed, decision of Reviewer upheld.

Treatment Injury – s 32 Accident Compensation Act 2001. Whether causal link between Appellant’s dental implant (treatment) and gingival overgrowth and teeth movement (personal injury). On weight of medical evidence, there was no causal link between the treatment and the injury, therefore treatment injury not established. Outcome: appeal dismissed. 

Late filing of an appeal to the District Court - s 151 Accident Compensation Act 2001. Delay due to illness. Whether interests of justice required the exercise of discretion to sustain his application for leave to file his appeal out of time. Delay arose out of an error or inadvertence. Interests of justice established for appeal. Outcome: appeal granted.

Appeal on a review decision concerning revocation of cover, weekly compensation, and treatment entitlements following a personal injury claim. Claim for revocation of cover, declining cover, declining weekly compensation and declining funding for a pain management programme. Whether the Corporation’s decision was correct. Held: The Corporation was correct to revoke cover for lumbar pain and to decline cover for thoracic sprain. Pain alone is not a physical injury under the Act, and robust medical evidence is required to establish causation. Outcome: appeal dismissed.

Application by Appellant for continuance of all appeals. Application declined given absence of medical support for request, delays in appeals to date, and procedural history of non-compliance. Outcome: application declined. 

Application for Leave to Appeal – s 162 Accident Compensation Act 2001. Sufficient grounds to sustain application for leave to appeal not established. No error of law capable of bona fide and serious argument. No wider importance of contended point of law. Outcome: application dismissed.

Leave to Appeal to High Court – s 162 Accident Compensation Act 2001. No error of law capable of bona fide and serious argument established. No wider importance of any contended point of law. Outcome: application dismissed.

Appeal from a review decision regarding the date from which interest is payable on backdated weekly compensation. Claim for interest on late payment of weekly compensation – s 114 of the Accident Compensation Act 2011. Whether the corporation determined the correct date for the purpose of calculating interest on late payment of weekly compensation to the appellant. Held: Under s 114, interest is only payable one month from after the Corporation has received all necessary information to calculate and make the payment. The Corporation determined the correct “all information date”. Outcome: appeal dismissed.

Leave to Appeal to High Court – s 162 Accident Compensation Act 2001. Grounds for leave to appeal raised by Applicant did not raise questions of law capable of bona fide and serious argument which would justify further appeal to the High Court. Outcome: application dismissed.

Appeal of Reviewable decision – ss 134, 145 Accident Compensation Act 2001. Whether reviewer correctly dismissed five applications for review for lack of jurisdiction. Review applications were invalid as they were not filed against reviewable decisions. No live issues to be determined. Applications dismissed for want of jurisdiction. Outcome: appeal dismissed.

Claim for cover for mental injury – s 26 Accident Compensation Act 2001. Whether Appellant suffered mental injury as result of a physical injury during treatment. Insufficient evidence of causal link between mental injury and a physical injury. Corporation applied correct approach to causation. Outcome: appeal dismissed.

Appeal from a review decision regarding the Corporation’s decision that the appellant was not entitled to a lump sum payment based on his whole person impairment rating of seven percent. Held: the Corporation correctly declined lump sum compensation for the appellant on the basis of expert medical assessment. Appellant has not established that the impairment assessment conducted on him was flawed or incorrect. Outcome: appeal dismissed.

Appeal from a review decision regarding the Corporation’s decision suspending appellant’s entitlements and determination of non-entitlement to deemed cover. Whether appellant was entitled to deemed cover for trochanteric bursitis/gluteal tendinopathy. Held: the Corporation lacked sufficient basis to suspend entitlements, as ongoing medical evidence supported continued incapacity linked to the original injury. Outcome: allowed in part.