Holcim (Australia) Pty Ltd v Thomas

Holcim (Australia) Pty Ltd appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against a decision of the Workers Compensation Commission. The dispute concerned a claim by Mr Thomas for the provision of new hearing aids, arising from boilermaker's deafness. Mr Thomas had notified his then employer of a hearing loss injury in 1999. He subsequently changed employers in 2009, and his employment after 1999 involved further exposure to noise, contributing to additional hearing loss, but he did not provide notice of this further injury to his second employer.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether Mr Thomas was obliged to give notice of his further hearing loss to his second employer, Holcim (Australia) Pty Ltd, given that the hearing aids were found to be reasonably necessary as a consequence of the hearing loss notified in 1999. The court was required to determine the extent of the second employer's liability, if any, for the provision of hearing aids necessitated by the cumulative effect of hearing loss, where only the initial loss had been notified to a previous employer.

The Court of Appeal reasoned that Mr Thomas was not obliged to give notice of further injury to his second employer. The court found that the hearing aids were reasonably necessary as a consequence of the hearing loss that had been notified in 1999. Therefore, the first employer, not Holcim (Australia) Pty Ltd, was liable for the consequences of the 1999 injury. The court concluded that there was no question of law to be determined on appeal. The summons seeking leave to appeal was dismissed.