Hogan and Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission (Compensation)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a claim by Mr. Hogan against the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission concerning defence-related injuries. Mr. Hogan sought compensation for a depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and an alcohol abuse disorder, alleging these conditions arose out of or in the course of his employment. The Commission had previously made certain assessments of his permanent impairment.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mr. Hogan had sustained an injury or disease, and specifically, whether the degree of whole person impairment (WPI) arising from his claimed conditions exceeded the WPI assessments previously made by a margin of at least 10%. This required the Tribunal to assess the impairment arising from each injury separately, as per established legal principles.

The Tribunal found that the medical evidence before it was insufficient to conduct the necessary separate assessments of WPI for each of Mr. Hogan's claimed conditions. Consequently, the Tribunal was unable to be satisfied that Mr. Hogan had sustained a WPI of at least 10% beyond the previously assessed levels for his PTSD, Depressive Disorder, or Alcohol Use Disorder. As no further compensation was payable under section 24 of the *Defence Related Claims Act* (DRCA), no liability to pay compensation under section 27 arose. The Tribunal affirmed the decisions under review.