Shlimon v Steric Pty Ltd

Shlimon v Steric Pty Ltd concerned a dispute between Shlimon and Steric Pty Ltd regarding the deemed date of injury for a disease sustained by Shlimon during his employment. The dispute was heard in the New South Wales Court of Appeal. The primary issue was whether the date of knowledge of the disease by Shlimon constituted the deemed date of injury under section 15(1) of the Workers Compensation Act 1987. This was further complicated by the provisions of section 322(2) and (3) of the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998, which provided that a worker's claim accrues only when the worker is aware of the injury or ought reasonably to have been aware of it.

The court applied the reasoning in Ozcan v Macarthur Disability Services Ltd, which held that the date of knowledge of the injury by the worker is the date upon which the injury is deemed to have occurred. The Court of Appeal found that Shlimon had been unaware of his disease until a specific date, and thus that date should be considered the deemed date of injury. The court further held that since Shlimon had not been reasonably expected to know of his condition earlier, the provisions of section 322(2) and (3) did not apply. The Court of Appeal determined that Shlimon's claim for workers' compensation was valid from the date he became aware of his disease.

The final orders of the court included a declaration that the deemed date of injury for Shlimon was the date upon which he first became aware of his disease, and that his claim for workers' compensation was valid from that date. Steric Pty Ltd was ordered to pay Shlimon compensation from that date, and the matter was remitted to the lower court for further proceedings consistent with the Court of Appeal's decision.