Hagan and Comcare (Compensation)

This matter concerned a claim for workers' compensation brought by the Applicant against Comcare. The Applicant, a former meat inspector, alleged that the repetitive and forceful use of his right arm and hand in his employment contributed to a significant degree to his right-sided ulnar nerve condition, specifically cubital tunnel syndrome. The central dispute revolved around when this condition first manifested and whether it was attributable to his work, particularly given that he ceased the relevant work in 2009 and underwent surgery in 2016. The case was heard by Senior Member M J McGrowdie.

The legal issues before the court were whether the Applicant's cubital tunnel syndrome was an injury for the purposes of the *Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988*, and if so, when that injury was deemed to have occurred. This required the court to assess the evidence regarding the onset of the Applicant's symptoms, including pain, numbness, and tingling in his right arm and hand, and to determine if these symptoms were causally linked to his employment as a meat inspector. The court also had to consider the Respondent's argument that the condition arose significantly later than the Applicant's cessation of work and that earlier medical reports and tests did not confirm the specific condition claimed.

Senior Member McGrowdie reasoned that the nature of the Applicant's work as a meat inspector, involving repetitive and forceful use of his right arm, was capable of causing the condition. While acknowledging the Respondent's challenges regarding the timing of symptom onset and diagnostic evidence, the Senior Member found that the Applicant had suffered an aggravation of his condition due to his work. The Senior Member concluded that the Applicant suffered cubital tunnel syndrome as a result of aggravation due to the nature of his work, and that this condition had continued. The injury was taken to have occurred on 7 April 2008, the date the Applicant presented to Grafton Hospital with relevant symptoms.

Consequently, the Senior Member set aside the reviewable decision of 1 May 2017 and substituted a decision that the Applicant suffered a compensable injury pursuant to section 14 of the *Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988*, namely right-sided cubital tunnel syndrome, taken to have occurred on 7 April 2008. Comcare was ordered to pay the Applicant's costs of the proceedings.