Aleksic v AAI Limited t/as GIO

The case of Aleksic v AAI Limited t/as GIO involves a dispute over the nature of injuries sustained by the claimant in two separate incidents. Firstly, on 1 February 2020, the claimant was involved in a motor accident where their vehicle was struck on the passenger side by an insured vehicle. The second incident occurred on 24 February 2020, when a kangaroo collided with the claimant's vehicle. The central issue before the court was whether the claimant had suffered a non-minor injury as defined under the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017, specifically in relation to the motor accident on 1 February 2020.

The court had to determine if the claimant had met the burden of proving that their injuries were not minor. This required a careful examination of the medical evidence and the interpretation of what constitutes a non-minor injury according to the Motor Accident Guidelines. The Panel, in reaching their decision, referred to the case of Briggs v IAG Ltd (No 2), which provided guidance on the application of the guidelines. The Panel concluded that the claimant had suffered a minor injury, finding that the symptoms described did not meet the criteria for a non-minor injury.

In their reasoning, the Panel noted that there was no evidence of radiculopathy in either the upper or lower limbs, as defined in the Motor Accident Guidelines. The claimant's right knee complaint was identified as longstanding pathology related to a prior knee replacement, rather than a new injury. Additionally, the symptoms of hand numbness and upper arm pain did not meet the definition of radiculopathy, as they were not confined to a specific dermatome. The court also found that the degenerative changes in the cervical spine were longstanding and unlikely to have been caused by the motor accident. As a result, the Panel upheld the original medical assessment that the claimant sustained a minor injury to the cervical and lumbar spines.

The court confirmed the Medical Assessment Certificate, affirming that the claimant had indeed suffered a minor injury within the meaning of the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017.