GIO General Ltd v ABB Installation and Service Pty Ltd

The New South Wales Court of Appeal considered an appeal and cross-appeal concerning a claim for workers compensation for a dust-related disease. The appellant, GIO General Ltd, was the insurer, and the respondent, ABB Installation and Service Pty Ltd, was the employer. The dispute centred on whether the employer was liable to indemnify the insurer under section 151AB of the *Workers Compensation Act 1987* (NSW) for payments made to a worker who contracted a dust disease.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the employer's employment of the worker was "to the nature of which the disease was due" within the meaning of section 151AB(1) of the Act. This required the Court to determine if the worker's employment with ABB Installation and Service Pty Ltd was a contributing factor to the development of his dust disease, and if so, whether that employment was the *cause* of the disease.

The Court analysed the evidence regarding the worker's exposure to dust during his employment with ABB Installation and Service Pty Ltd. It applied the principles established in previous case law concerning the causal link required between employment and a dust disease for an employer to be liable for indemnity. The Court found that the worker's employment was indeed to the nature of which the disease was due, establishing the necessary causal connection.

Consequently, the Court of Appeal dismissed GIO General Ltd's appeal with costs and also dismissed ABB Installation and Service Pty Ltd's cross-appeal.