Ellis v Dontarna Pty Ltd

The applicant, Ellis, has brought a claim against Dontarna Pty Ltd for compensation under the Workers Compensation Act 1987. Ellis sustained a bilateral shoulder injury and experienced incapacity as a result. A claim for section 66 compensation was submitted in April 2023. Ellis was assessed at 23% whole person impairment by a Medical Assessor. Both parties concurred that the injury was deemed pursuant to section 15 of the Act. The central issue before the court was to determine the deemed date of injury: was it the first date of incapacity in October 2019 or the date of the claim in April 2023?

The court addressed this issue by considering previous decisions, including SAS Trustee Corporation v O’Keefe and Haddad v The GEO Group Australia Pty Limited. It was established that the deemed date of injury should correspond with the date of the first incapacity. The court found that the applicant’s deemed date of injury was indeed the date of the first incapacity in October 2019. This decision was consistent with the established legal precedent that the date of incapacity, not the date of the claim, should be used to determine the deemed date of injury.

Consequently, the court ruled in favour of the applicant. The decision underscored the importance of aligning the deemed date of injury with the actual date of incapacity. This ruling ensures that the compensation process reflects the true onset of the injury and the associated incapacity, providing a fair outcome for the injured party. The court’s decision clarified the application of section 15 of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 in this context.