Falee v Harris Farm Markets Pty Ltd

The case of Falee v Harris Farm Markets Pty Ltd involved a claim by Mr. Falee against his former employer, Harris Farm Markets Pty Ltd, for a lump sum compensation following an injury to his cervical spine sustained on 10 January 2006. The matter was heard in the Court of Appeal, with Mr. Falee being the appellant and Harris Farm Markets Pty Ltd the respondent. The dispute centred around the validity and assessment of Mr. Falee’s claim for compensation for whole person impairment due to his injury.

The primary legal issues the court had to address were whether the Arbitrator’s determination correctly assessed Mr. Falee’s claim and whether the referral to an Approved Medical Specialist was appropriately ordered. The court needed to consider the validity of the Arbitrator’s decision to remit the claim for reassessment by an Approved Medical Specialist, excluding certain medical reports, and to confirm the rest of the Arbitrator’s determination. Additionally, the court had to determine the costs of the appeal to be borne by the respondent employer.

The court found that while the Arbitrator had correctly assessed and confirmed most aspects of Mr. Falee’s claim, there was an error in the referral process for the reassessment of the whole person impairment. The court held that the exclusion of specific medical reports from the referral was inappropriate and thus revoked the relevant paragraph of the Arbitrator’s determination. It was decided that the claim should be remitted to the Registrar for reassessment by an Approved Medical Specialist, including all documents from the evidence file except for the specified reports. The rest of the Arbitrator’s determination was upheld, confirming the validity of the other aspects of the claim.

The court ordered that the specific paragraph of the Arbitrator’s determination was revoked, and a new order was made for the referral to an Approved Medical Specialist to reassess Mr. Falee’s claim, excluding the reports from Dr. Nash and Dr. Dave. The rest of the Arbitrator’s determination was confirmed. Furthermore, the court ordered the respondent employer to pay the appellant’s costs of the appeal, amounting to $600 plus GST.