Metro Trains Melbourne Pty Ltd v Graeme Allan Keay

The Court of Appeal in Victoria recently dealt with a complex issue concerning the eligibility of a worker to claim a serious injury under the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 (the "Act") following multiple transport accidents. Graeme Allan Keay, the appellant, suffered a series of transport accidents, culminating in severe psychiatric injury. He sought to make a serious injury application under section 335(2)(d) of the Act, but Metro Trains Melbourne Pty Ltd, the respondent, contended that he should instead apply under section 93(4)(d) of the Transport Accident Act 1986.

The key legal issue before the Court was whether a worker who suffers a psychiatric injury arising from multiple transport accidents could claim a serious injury under the Act, or if they were limited to the provisions of the Transport Accident Act. The Court had to determine the interaction between these two pieces of legislation and whether the worker was restricted to the Transport Accident Act due to the series of accidents.

The Court found that the worker could indeed apply under the Act if the injuries met the criteria for a serious injury. The Court of Appeal held that the provisions of the Transport Accident Act did not preclude a worker from making a serious injury application under the Act if the conditions were satisfied. The Court relied on the precedents of Belgrave Heights Christian School v Moore and Primary Health Care Ltd v Giakalis, which established that the Act's provisions for serious injury applications were not limited to single incidents but could encompass injuries from multiple events if they met the statutory criteria. Consequently, the Court determined that the worker could pursue his claim under the Act.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding that the worker was eligible to make a serious injury application under the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013. This decision clarifies the interaction between the provisions of the Transport Accident Act 1986 and the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013, affirming that a worker who suffers psychiatric injury from multiple transport accidents can seek compensation under the Act if the criteria are met.