Nguyen v Woolworths Limited

DISTRICT COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

Nguyen v Woolworths Limited [2016] QDC 130

PARTIES:

MOSES NGUYEN
(applicant)

v

WOOLWORTHS LIMITED
(respondent)

FILE NO/S:

1754 of 2016

DIVISION:

Civil

PROCEEDING:

Application

ORIGINATING COURT:

District Court

DELIVERED ON:

24 May 2016, ex tempore

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

HEARING DATE:

24 May 2016

JUDGE:

Everson DCJ

ORDER:

1.   The application is allowed.

2.   The respondent pay the applicants costs of and incidental to the application on the standard basis

CATCHWORDS:

EMPLOYMENT LAW – Injury to employee – Liability of employer – pre-litigation procedure – obligation to provide information reasonably requested – scope of obligation – whether requests reasonable.

Acts Interpretation Act 1954, s14A

Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003, ss279, 273, 31

Haug v Jupiters Limited Trading as Conrad Treasury Brisbane [2008] 1 Qd R 276

Healy v Logan City Council [2016] QDC 15

COUNSEL: 

R Morgan for the applicant

M T O’Sullivan for the respondent

SOLICITORS:

Shine Lawyers for the applicant

Sparke Helmore Lawyers for the respondent  

1. This is an application whereby the applicant is seeking further documentation pursuant to section 279 of the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (“WCRA”).

1. The applicant alleges that he was injured at work whilst picking stock at a distribution centre and placing it on a pallet for transport to a Woolworths store.  He alleges that he was required to perform an unsafe manual-handling task during the course of loading the pallet, which caused him to injure his lower back.

1. Section 279 of the WCRA is in the following terms:

“(1) The parties must cooperate in relation to a claim, in particular by –

(a) giving each other copies of relevant documents about:

(i) the circumstances of the event resulting in the injury;  and

(ii) the worker’s injury;  and

(iii) the worker’s prospects of rehabilitation;  and

(b) giving information reasonably requested by each other party about –    

(i) the circumstances of the event resulting in the injury;  and

(ii) the nature of the injury and of any impairment or financial loss resulting from the injury;  and

(iii) if applicable – the medical treatment and rehabilitation the worker has sought from, or been provided with, by the worker’s employer or the insurer;  and

(iv) the worker’s medical history, as far as it is relevant to the claim;  and

(v) any applications for compensation made by the claimant or worker for any injury resulting from the same event.

….”

1. The application focuses upon relevant documents about “the circumstances of the event resulting in the injury”. 

1. The term “event” is defined in section 31 of the WCRA in the following terms: –

“(1) An event is anything that results in injury, including a latent onset injury, to a worker.

(2) An event includes continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same conditions that results in an injury to a worker.

(3) A worker may sustain 1 or multiple injuries as a result of an event whether the injury happens or injuries happen immediately or over a period.

(4)…