Nickolopoulos and Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission (Compensation)

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Nickolopoulos against a decision by the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission. Mr Nickolopoulos sought compensation for the loss of vision he experienced, which he attributed to his military service, including exposure to CS gas, sun, dust, asbestos, and other substances, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder and medication. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was required to determine whether Mr Nickolopoulos suffered an eye ailment and, if so, whether it was contributed to by events during his service.

The Tribunal considered the evidence presented, including Mr Nickolopoulos' own account of his military training and subsequent vision problems, as well as medical reports. Crucially, the Tribunal noted the absence of any military medical records documenting eye damage from CS gas or other exposures during his service. While Mr Nickolopoulos presented evidence of his current legal blindness, the ophthalmological reports did not identify abnormalities that could explain his visual acuity. Expert evidence suggested that while CS gas can have long-term effects, these would typically manifest relatively quickly after exposure, and there was no objective medical evidence of ocular abnormalities or physical damage.

The Tribunal found that the balance of the medical evidence overwhelmingly indicated that Mr Nickolopoulos' poor eyesight was not due to an ocular condition. Consequently, the Tribunal was reasonably satisfied that Mr Nickolopoulos did not suffer an eye ailment. As the threshold issue of suffering an eye ailment was not met, the Tribunal concluded that no compensation was payable under the relevant legislation, as there was no contribution to an eye ailment by events occurring during his service. The Tribunal affirmed the Reviewable Decision.