Catalanotto v Transdev Sydney Ferries Pty Ltd - [2021] NSWPIC 514

CERTIFICATE OF DETERMINATION OF MEMBER
CITATION:	Catalanotto v Transdev Sydney Ferries Pty Ltd [2021] NSWPIC 514
APPLICANT:	Mariano Catalanotto
RESPONDENT:	Transdev Sydney Ferries Pty Ltd
MEMBER:	Cameron Burge
DATE OF DECISION:	9 December 2021
CATCHWORDS:	WORKERS COMPENSATION - Claim for weekly benefits and medical expenses regarding alleged consequential tear of biceps tendon at home as a result of a work-related right elbow injury; the applicant was lifting a water pressure system at home when he tore his right biceps tendon; he had suffered a right elbow injury at work 11 days earlier; the applicant alleges the torn tendon came about because he was manoeuvring the pressure system in a different manner to how he would normally use his right arm, owing to the effects of the work injury; Held - on a common-sense basis, the totality of the evidence establishes a causal connection between the work injury and the consequential torn tendon; Kooragang Cement Pty Ltd v Bates and EMI (Aust) Limited v Bes followed; the respondent offered no medical evidence in support of its case, however, no inference is taken in circumstances where the respondent’s case is the applicant has not satisfied on his own evidence the requisite onus of proof; Woolworths v Christopher-Coates followed; however, the applicant has discharged the onus of proof in establishing the relevant causal link; award for the applicant on the claims for weekly payments and medical expenses.
DETERMINATIONS MADE:	1. The applicant suffered an injury to his right upper extremity (elbow) in the course of his employment with the respondent on 10 March 2021. 2. As a result of the injury referred to in (1) above, the applicant suffered a torn right biceps tendon on 31 March 2021. 3. As a result of the tear of his biceps tendon, the applicant was totally incapacitated for employment between 31 March 2021 and 4 July 2021. 4. At the date of injury, the applicant’s preinjury average weekly earnings were $2,459.23. 5. The respondent is to pay the applicant worker compensation for the period 31 March 2021 to 4 July 2021 pursuant to section 36 of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 at the rate of $2,336.27 per week. 6. The respondent is to pay the applicant’s reasonably necessary medical and treatment expenses in connection with the torn bicep tendon.

STATEMENT OF REASONS

BACKGROUND

Mariano Catalanotta (the applicant) in this matter brings a claim for a closed period of weekly benefits between 31 March 2021 and 4 July 2021, a need for which is said to arise from a work-related tear of his right biceps tendon. The applicant also claims the payment of reasonably necessary medical and treatment expenses.
Transdev Sydney Ferries Pty Ltd (the respondent) alleges the torn biceps tendon is not work-related and says the applicant has not discharged his onus in establishing a causal connection between an accepted soft tissue injury to his right elbow on 10 March 2021 and the subsequent biceps tendon tear on 31 March 2021.

The applicant’s index injury occurred…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

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Details

Case: [2021] NSWPIC 514
Decision Date: 9 December 2021

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of Catalanotto v Transdev Sydney Ferries Pty Ltd involved a claim for workers' compensation benefits, specifically weekly payments and medical expenses, by the applicant who alleged that a tear to his right biceps tendon was a consequence of a work-related right elbow injury. The applicant claimed that he tore his right biceps tendon at home while lifting a water pressure system, an injury he sustained 11 days after a workplace incident involving his right elbow. The applicant argued that his altered arm movements due to the work injury were the cause of the tendon tear. The case was decided by the court, which needed to determine the causal relationship between the work injury and the biceps tendon tear, as well as the onus of proof required to establish such a link.

The court addressed whether the injury sustained at home was a direct consequence of the workplace injury. It was required to assess the evidence presented to determine if there was a causal connection between the work-related elbow injury and the biceps tendon tear. The respondent, Transdev Sydney Ferries Pty Ltd, did not provide any medical evidence to counter the applicant's claims, and the court noted that this absence did not necessarily imply that the respondent's case was unviable, as the onus of proof was on the applicant to establish the causal link. The court referred to precedents such as Kooragang Cement Pty Ltd v Bates and EMI (Aust) Limited v Bes to assess the connection between the two injuries on a common-sense basis, and to Woolworths v Christopher-Coates to consider the onus of proof.

The court found that the totality of the evidence did establish a causal connection between the work injury and the biceps tendon tear. Despite the respondent's failure to provide medical evidence, the court held that this did not result in any inference against the applicant. The applicant successfully discharged the onus of proof in establishing the relevant causal link. The court awarded the applicant weekly payments and medical expenses, acknowledging the connection between the work injury and the subsequent tendon tear. This decision highlights the importance of establishing a clear causal link in workers' compensation claims and the application of the onus of proof in such cases.

Orders