Baker v Australia Meat Holdings P/L

SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

Baker v. Australia Meat Holdings P/L [2002] QSC 016

PARTIES:

TIMOTHY RICHARD BAKER
(PLAINTIFF)
V.
AUSTRALIA MEAT HOLDINGS PROPRIETARY LIMITED
ACN 124 567 890
(DEFENDANT)

FILE NO/S:

S 316/01

DIVISION:

Trial

PROCEEDING:

Application

ORIGINATING COURT:

SUPREME COURT

DELIVERED ON:

5 February 2002

DELIVERED AT:

TOWNSVILLE

HEARING DATE:

1 February 2002

JUDGES:

CULLINANE J.

ORDER:

The application is dismissed with costs to be assessed

CATCHWORDS:

Procedure-Miscellaneous Procedural Matters-Application to strike out paragraphs to determine summary issue where trial is inevitable-Where possibility of appeal may delay further action.

COUNSEL:

A.    Moon for the Plaintiff

B.     M. Grant-Taylor for the Defendant

SOLICITORS:

Connolly Suthers Lawyers for the Defendant
Thompson Hannan for the Defendant

1. The Defendant seeks a number of orders.  Whilst they are sought in the alternative, they all involve the same issue which the Defendant seeks to have determined separately and prior to the trial.  The issue can be summarised as follows:     whether a notice of assessment by WorkCover Queensland that the Plaintiff has suffered a nil percent of WRI (work related impairment) precludes the Plaintiff from claiming damages for future economic loss or impairment of earning capacity.

1. The Defendant contends that it does and seeks to have those parts of the statement of claim in which such claims are advanced struck out. 

1. There is no dispute about the relevant factual matters.  The notice of assessment concerned was issued on 10^th November 1998.  It is an exhibit to an affidavit of Amanda Charmaine Karpeles filed on behalf of the Defendant.  This affidavit sets out the history of the matter.

1. The relevant legislation is the WorkCover Queensland Act of 1996.

1. Work related impairment (WRI) is defined in s.41 of the Act in the following terms:

“41.(1) A worker’s “work related impairment” from injury is the worker’s entitlement to lump sum compensation under section 198¹¹ expressed as a percentage of statutory maximum compensation calculated under section 201.^12”

1. As will be seen the definition is a somewhat curious one in that it provides that an impairment resulting from the injury is in fact an entitlement to lump sum compensation.

1. Section 317 of the Act provides as follows:

“317.  A court may award damages for future economic loss or damages for diminution of future earning capacity only if the claimant satisfies the court that, because of the percentage of WRI resulting from the injury sustained, three is at least a 51% likelihood that the claimant will sustain the future economic loss or diminution of future earning capacity".

1. It is the Defendant’s contention that the scheme of the Act, reflected especially in those provisions dealing with entitlement of compensation for permanent impairment (part 9 of chapter 3) and access to damages (chapter 5) compel the conclusion that the reference in s.317 (the percentage of WRI resulting from injuries sustained) is the assessment of WRI contained in the notice of assessment given by WorkCover Queensland pursuant to s.203 of the Act.

1. Section 317 would seem, clearly enough,…