Saad and Comcare (Compensation)

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr. Saad against decisions made by Comcare regarding his workers' compensation claims. The dispute centred on whether Mr. Saad's claimed back pain was a result of an injury sustained on 26 May 2016, or pre-existing degenerative conditions, and whether Comcare was liable to compensate him for medical treatment related to his shoulder and elbow tendonitis. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was required to determine these issues.

The Tribunal was tasked with determining whether the applicant's claimed back pain was an injury in consequence of the incident on 26 May 2016, or an aggravation, acceleration, or recurrence of a pre-existing degenerative condition. It also had to consider Comcare's liability for compensation under sections 16 and 19 of the *Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988* (Cth) concerning the applicant's calcifying tendonitis of the right shoulder.

In relation to the first claim, the Tribunal accepted the evidence of Dr. Journeaux, who opined that the applicant's back pain stemmed from constitutional degenerative changes rather than the incident of 26 May 2016. The Tribunal noted the absence of any contemporaneous medical records referring to a back injury at the time of the incident and the significant delay before back pain was first documented. Consequently, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the applicant suffered an injury to his back in consequence of the incident. For the second claim, the Tribunal affirmed Comcare's decision to cease liability under sections 16 and 19 for the calcifying tendonitis of the right shoulder, as the applicant had lodged his application for review after the reviewable decision was rendered.

The Tribunal dismissed the application with matter number 2019/4338 and affirmed the reviewable decisions in respect of the First and Second Claims in matters numbered 2019/5825 and 2020/8521.