Fonua v Broken Hill Pty Co Ltd

The High Court of Australia considered an appeal by Mr Fonua against a decision of the Full Federal Court concerning his claim for workers' compensation against Broken Hill Pty Co Ltd (BHP). Mr Fonua had been employed by BHP as a miner and alleged that he had suffered hearing loss as a result of his employment. The dispute centred on whether Mr Fonua's claim was barred by the operation of the *Limitation Act 1969* (NSW).

The primary legal issue before the High Court was whether the limitation period for Mr Fonua's claim for damages for hearing loss, which is a form of personal injury, commenced from the date of the injury itself or from the date on which Mr Fonua first discovered, or ought to have discovered, that he had suffered hearing loss and that it was attributable to his employment. This involved an interpretation of the relevant provisions of the *Limitation Act 1969* (NSW) concerning actions for personal injury.

The High Court, by majority, held that the limitation period for a claim for damages for personal injury, such as hearing loss, commences from the date of the injury itself, not from the date of its discovery. The Court reasoned that the wording of the *Limitation Act 1969* (NSW) did not provide for a discoverability test in cases of personal injury. Therefore, Mr Fonua's claim, having been commenced more than three years after the period of his employment during which the hearing loss allegedly occurred, was statute-barred.

The appeal was dismissed.