Donovan v Secretary, Department of Education and Communities

In the matter of Donovan v Secretary, Department of Education and Communities, the Federal Court of Australia was asked to determine whether the claimant was entitled to compensation for a psychological injury that led to a loss of vision in one eye. The claimant alleged that the psychological injury, which resulted from stress, caused an occlusion in the retinal artery of the left eye. The dispute centred on whether the psychological injury was the direct cause of the retinal artery occlusion and if so, whether this constituted a compensable injury under the applicable legislation.

The court was tasked with discerning the appropriate legal principles to apply in assessing causation in this context, particularly the relationship between the psychological injury and the physical manifestation of the retinal artery occlusion. It was necessary to evaluate the expert evidence presented by both the claimant's ophthalmologist and a psychiatrist, and to determine whether the Senior Arbitrator had correctly assessed the weight and relevance of this evidence. The court also had to consider the extent to which any pre-existing medical condition might have interacted with the psychological injury to cause the occlusion.

The court found that the Senior Arbitrator had properly assessed the evidence and correctly determined that the psychological injury caused by stress led to the retinal artery occlusion. The court concluded that the Senior Arbitrator had not erred in preferring the evidence of the treating ophthalmologist over that of the psychiatrist, as the ophthalmologist's evidence was more directly relevant to the physical cause of the occlusion. The court held that the pre-existing medical condition did not preclude a finding that the psychological injury had aggravated the condition, leading to the occlusion. The decision of the Senior Arbitrator was therefore affirmed.

No further orders were made by the court beyond confirming the Senior Arbitrator's determination of 12 December 2014.