Lam and Australian Postal Corporation

Administrative

Appeals

Tribunal

 

DECISION AND REASONS FOR DECISION [2006] AATA 428

ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL      )

)          No N2005/749

GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE  DIVISION		)
Re		THI BICH MY LAM

Applicant

And AUSTRALIAN POSTAL CORPORATION

Respondent

DECISION

Tribunal Ms N Bell, Senior Member
Dr J Campbell, Member

Date17 May 2006 

PlaceSydney

Decision The decision under review is affirmed

..............................................

Ms N Bell
  Presiding Member 

COMPENSATION – Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – Mail Officer – Work Activity Did Not Cause or Materially Contribute to Condition – Decision Under Review Affirmed

Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988

Carboni v Comcare [2005] AATA 409

Ngo v Australian Postal Corporation [2004] AATA 1033

REASONS FOR DECISION

17 May 2006 Ms N Bell, Senior Member
Dr J Campbell, Member     

1.      Ms Lam commenced work at Australia Post in 1989 as a Mail Officer.  In 1996 she made a claim in relation to “numb and tingling fingers, arms, neck, spine and sometimes in the legs and very stiff shoulders”.  Her claim was refused by Australia Post and she did not pursue it.   She continued as a Mail Officer, performing the full range of duties until she made a further claim in December 2004 for “bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome (fingers feel numb)”.  Ms Lam commenced restricted duties and remains on those duties to date.  Australia Post denied liability for carpal tunnel syndrome and affirmed that determination on reconsideration, hence Mrs Lam’s current application with this tribunal.

issues

2.      It is common ground that Ms Lam suffers from carpal tunnel syndrome.  She contends that her condition was caused or materially contributed to by her repetitive and fast paced work as a Mail officer.  In the alternative, she contends that her work activity aggravated her pre-existing carpal tunnel syndrome.  Ms Lam relied on the report and oral evidence of Associate Professor G David Champion, Rheumatologist and the reports of Dr L Anand, Occupational Physician, and Dr P Giblin, Orthopaedic Surgeon.

3.      Australia Post contends that Ms Lam’s carpal tunnel syndrome is not causally linked to her work activities and not aggravated by them.  It relied on the report and oral evidence of Dr N McGill, Rheumatologist, to contend that Ms Lam’s carpal tunnel syndrome is constitutional.

was the condition caused by or materially contributed to by work?

4.      Ms Lam’s evidence was that, after developing numbness in the fingers of her right hand in 1996, she attended her doctor who told her to “work slower”.  She did so and the numbness went away.  After 3 months on light duties, she continued to work at full duties until December 2004.

5.      Ms Lam described the introduction of some new machines for mail processing in 2000, a multi level optical code reader which required the operator to work at hip and shoulder level and a bar code sorter which also required work at several levels.

6.       Ms Lam said her right hand problem completely disappeared between 1996 and 2004 when, in September, she began to have problems with her left hand and with…