Cassandra Ann Andrikis v Nominal Defendant

The Court of Appeal of the Australian Capital Territory heard an appeal by Cassandra Ann Andrikis against the Nominal Defendant concerning the assessment of damages for personal injuries sustained in a motor vehicle collision. Liability had been established against the Nominal Defendant, and the appeal focused specifically on the exclusion of a sum of $10,271.14, representing the cost of rehabilitation services provided to the appellant.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the Master had erred in law by refusing to include the $10,271.14 for rehabilitation services in the damages awarded to the appellant. This refusal stemmed from the Master's finding that the respondent was under no obligation to pay this sum, either to the Workers' Compensation Insurer or separately. The appeal also concerned the appropriate costs orders for the proceedings before the Master and for the appeal itself.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding that the Master had erred by failing to consider the relevant provisions of the *Disability Services Act 1986* (Cth). Specifically, sections 22 and 23 of the Act establish that a person who receives rehabilitation services and subsequently recovers compensation is liable to repay the cost of those services to the Commonwealth, and this liability can be enforced against the person liable to pay compensation, including an insurer. As it was conceded that these statutory provisions had not been drawn to the Master's attention, the court determined that the sum of $10,271.14 should have been included in the damages awarded. The court ordered that the judgment be amended to include this sum, increasing the total judgment to $110,649.77. Given that neither party had brought the relevant legislation to the Master's attention, each party was ordered to bear their own costs of the slip rule application. However, as the issue was properly raised on appeal, the respondent was ordered to pay the appellant's costs of the appeal.