Qantas Airways Limited v Rhodes

Qantas Airways Limited sought judicial review of a decision made by an Appeal Panel in relation to the assessment of whole person impairment (WPI) of an employee who had suffered an injury to her left knee on 8 October 2015. This was not the first injury to her left knee, having suffered an injury to the same knee on 17 October 1996. The issue before the court was whether the Appeal Panel was correct to revoke a Medical Assessment Certificate that had assumed a 10% contribution of the earlier injury to the WPI of the respondent.

The Appeal Panel considered that the evidence established that the respondent had extensive arthritis in her left knee immediately before her injury on 8 October 2015 and that the arthritis was initiated by her earlier injury. The Appeal Panel considered, given the extent of the arthritis in the respondent’s left knee at the time of her injury on 8 October 2015, making an assumption that the proportion to which the earlier injury contributed to her WPI was 10% was at odds with the evidence. The court found that the Appeal Panel was correct to revoke the Medical Assessment Certificate.

The court found that the Appeal Panel’s reasoning was sound and that the assumption of a 10% contribution to the WPI was not supported by the evidence. The court found that the Appeal Panel was entitled to consider the evidence before it and to reach the conclusion that it did. The Appeal Panel’s decision to revoke the Medical Assessment Certificate was upheld.

The court made no orders as to costs.