Mount Thorley Operations Pty Ltd v Farrugia - [2020] NSWDC 798

District Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Mount Thorley Operations Pty Ltd v Farrugia [2020] NSWDC 798
Hearing dates: 03 September 2020
Date of orders: 03 September 2020
Decision date: 03 September 2020
Jurisdiction: Civil
Before: Neilson DCJ
Decision:
Application for Medical Panel struck out.

Catchwords:
COAL MINERS WORKERS COMPENSATION
EFFECT OF A REDEMPTION
W worked for E for about 20 years in an open cut coal mine. His last day of work was 17 November 1999 - On 20 March 2001 Bishop CCJ approved a lump sum redemption of $100,000, which sum was paid to W shortly thereafter – On 7 April 2020 W made a claim for lump sum compensation for 5% severe bodily disfigurement, caused by solar skin damage – On the same day he applied for a medical panel to assess his claim – E, by summons, moved the Court to strike out the application for a medical panel – Question before the Court was whether the redemption redeemed the employer’s liability to W for solar skin damage which he was not aware of at the time of the redemption.
Held: the redemption had redeemed the employer’s liability for a latent injury to W’s skin, an organ of his body – Application for Medical Panel struck out.

Legislation Cited:
Workers Compensation Act 1987

Cases Cited:
Durno v Coal Mines Insurance Pty Ltd (unreported, 23 July 2018)

Texts Cited:
Gould’s Medical Dictionary, 1979, McGraw-Hill
Schmidt's Attorneys' Dictionary of Medicine, 1992, Matthew Bender

Category: Principal judgment
Parties: Mount Thorley Operations Pty Ltd – Plaintiff
Angelo Lino Farrugia – Defendant
Representation: Counsel:
T. Rowles – Plaintiff
D. Benson – Defendant

File Number(s): RJ00219/20
Publication restriction: Nil.

Judgment

HIS HONOUR: By summons filed on 7 July 2020, the plaintiff, Mount Thorley Operations Pty Ltd seeks to strike out a referral to a medical panel, an application for which was made by the defendant, Mr Angelo Lino Farrugia, on 16 June 2020.
The application for referral to a medical panel bears plaint number RJ200 of 2020. The application for the medical panel recites that a claim for compensation was made under s 66 of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 on 7 April 2020. The application seeks the assessment of "severe bodily disfigurement (being an injury which is not, or is not wholly, compensable under the table of permanent injuries)". The application was supported by a report of Dr Peter Hopkins, which bears the date 19 November 2019 and was received by the worker's solicitors on or about 2 December 2019. The injury alleged was a deemed injury, occurring on 7 April 2020 when the defendant made a claim for a lump sum compensation pursuant to s 66. The nature of the injury was "solar skin damage causing severe bodily disfigurement". The nature of the “accident” was "exposure to HV radiation/sunlight in the course of employment".
I shall hereafter refer to the plaintiff as the employer and to the defendant as the worker. The worker had been employed by the employer…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

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Details

Case: [2020] NSWDC 798
Decision Date: 03 September 2020

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Mount Thorley Operations Pty Ltd v Farrugia was a case heard in the Australian court system, involving a dispute over workers' compensation for a former employee of the respondent's employer, Mount Thorley Operations. The plaintiff, Farrugia, worked for the respondent for approximately twenty years in an open cut coal mine, concluding his employment on 17 November 1999. Approximately two years later, on 20 March 2001, a lump sum redemption of $100,000 was approved and paid to Farrugia. On 7 April 2020, Farrugia lodged a claim for additional lump sum compensation for a 5% severe bodily disfigurement caused by solar skin damage, and applied for a medical panel to assess his claim. The respondent, Mount Thorley Operations, sought to have Farrugia's application for a medical panel struck out, raising the question of whether the prior redemption had extinguished their liability for the latent injury.

The court was required to determine whether the earlier redemption had extinguished the employer's liability for the latent injury to the plaintiff's skin, which he was not aware of at the time of the redemption. The respondent argued that the redemption had extinguished all liability for any latent injuries, including the solar skin damage. Conversely, Farrugia argued that the redemption did not extinguish his claim for compensation in relation to the latent injury. The court needed to examine the relevant legal principles and precedents to resolve this issue.

The court found that the redemption had indeed extinguished the employer's liability for the latent injury to the plaintiff's skin, which was an organ of his body. The court held that the redemption was an effective discharge of the employer's liability for any latent injuries, including those that were unknown to the plaintiff at the time of the redemption. As a result, the court struck out Farrugia's application for a medical panel to assess his claim for compensation for the solar skin damage.

In summary, the court determined that the redemption had extinguished the employer's liability for the latent injury to the plaintiff's skin, and consequently struck out the plaintiff's application for a medical panel to assess his claim for compensation. The court's decision was based on the examination of relevant legal principles and precedents, and the court's findings were clearly articulated in its judgment.

Orders

Orders of the court

Application for Medical Panel struck out.

Background

Background to the litigation

Full text does not contain this section.

Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

Full text does not contain this section.

Decision

Reasons for decision

Full text does not contain this section.

Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

Full text does not contain this section.

Medium Neutral Citation:	Mount Thorley Operations Pty Ltd v Farrugia [2020] NSWDC 798
Hearing dates:	03 September 2020
Date of orders:	03 September 2020
Decision date:	03 September 2020
Jurisdiction:	Civil
Before:	Neilson DCJ
Decision:	Application for Medical Panel struck out.
Catchwords:	COAL MINERS WORKERS COMPENSATION EFFECT OF A REDEMPTION W worked for E for about 20 years in an open cut coal mine. His last day of work was 17 November 1999 - On 20 March 2001 Bishop CCJ approved a lump sum redemption of $100,000, which sum was paid to W shortly thereafter – On 7 April 2020 W made a claim for lump sum compensation for 5% severe bodily disfigurement, caused by solar skin damage – On the same day he applied for a medical panel to assess his claim – E, by summons, moved the Court to strike out the application for a medical panel – Question before the Court was whether the redemption redeemed the employer’s liability to W for solar skin damage which he was not aware of at the time of the redemption. Held: the redemption had redeemed the employer’s liability for a latent injury to W’s skin, an organ of his body – Application for Medical Panel struck out.
Legislation Cited:	Workers Compensation Act 1987
Cases Cited:	Durno v Coal Mines Insurance Pty Ltd (unreported, 23 July 2018)
Texts Cited:	Gould’s Medical Dictionary, 1979, McGraw-Hill Schmidt's Attorneys' Dictionary of Medicine, 1992, Matthew Bender
Category:	Principal judgment
Parties:	Mount Thorley Operations Pty Ltd – Plaintiff Angelo Lino Farrugia – Defendant
Representation:	Counsel: T. Rowles – Plaintiff D. Benson – Defendant
File Number(s):	RJ00219/20
Publication restriction:	Nil.