Bulghadaryan v State of New South Wales (South Eastern Sydney Local Health District)

The appeal before the court involved a claim for workers' compensation by Bulghadaryan against the State of New South Wales, represented by the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District. Bulghadaryan sought compensation for injuries to his shoulders, lumbar and cervical spines sustained during his employment. The Member of the tribunal dismissed Bulghadaryan's claim for shoulder injuries but found that he had suffered injuries to his lumbar and cervical spines.

The legal issues that the court had to address centred on the admissibility of fresh evidence, specifically an MRI scan and a report, submitted by Bulghadaryan after the initial decision by the Member. The court needed to determine whether the new evidence could be considered under section 352(6) of the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998, which allows for fresh or additional evidence to be taken into account if it was not reasonably available at the time of the original hearing.

The court found that the MRI and the report were indeed fresh evidence as they were not reasonably available at the time of the initial decision. The court considered the case of CHEP Australia Limited v Strickland, which established that fresh evidence could be admitted if it was relevant and had the potential to affect the outcome of the case. However, in this instance, the court held that the evidence did not alter the conclusion reached by the Member regarding the shoulder injuries. The court confirmed the Member's findings that there was no injury to the shoulders, and therefore, the fresh evidence did not result in a different outcome for Bulghadaryan's claim.

The court ultimately dismissed the appeal, upholding the Member's decision that Bulghadaryan was not entitled to compensation for injuries to his shoulders. The court did not alter the finding regarding the lumbar and cervical spines, leaving that aspect of the Member's decision intact.