Jovanovic v Southorn

L'Arbi Abbaci commenced proceedings against Richardsons Meat Industries Ltd, seeking compensation under the Workers Compensation Act 1927 for injuries he claimed to have sustained while working as a Muslim slaughterman for the defendant at its Somerset abattoir. The plaintiff alleged that he suffered personal injury by accident while working on 20 May 1983 and sustained further injuries in June, October, and December 1983. The primary legal issues the court had to decide were whether the plaintiff had established that he suffered personal injury by accident and whether such injuries arose out of and in the course of his employment. The court had to determine if the plaintiff's injuries were a result of the stress involved in his job and whether he was able to continue working despite the injuries.

The court found that the plaintiff had established that he suffered an injury by accident in May 1983 and that such injury arose out of and in the course of his employment. The court accepted that the plaintiff's pre-existing condition made him vulnerable to painful injury, and the stress involved in his job resulted in an injury by accident. However, the court found that the plaintiff's physical capacity for working was not reduced to the point where he was disabled from working by 30 December 1983. The court held that the plaintiff was entitled to receive weekly payments for partial incapacity for work due to the injuries he sustained at work. However, the court held that the plaintiff's claim for payment of weekly compensation failed because his failure to work since January 1984 was due to the dispute with the Tasmanian Islamic Council, the consequential loss of registration as a Muslim slaughterman, and his persistent sense of grievance.

The court dismissed the plaintiff's claim for compensation and awarded costs to the defendant.