Skates v Hills Industries Ltd

In this case, the plaintiff, Skates, sought judicial review of a decision by the Registrar of Workers Compensation regarding the assessment of whole person impairment. The plaintiff argued that the Registrar should have referred the assessment of impairment arising from specific body parts to an Approved Medical Specialist. The dispute was heard in the Supreme Court of Queensland. The second defendant, Hills Industries Ltd, contended that the Approved Medical Specialist had exceeded the scope of the referral by assessing the impairment of body parts not specifically referred.

The court was required to determine whether the referral was limited to the assessment of impairment arising from the specified body parts or if it permitted the Approved Medical Specialist to assess the degree of permanent impairment arising from other body parts not specifically referred. The court also needed to consider the relevance of the employer’s concession that the left wrist ought to have been included in the referral. Furthermore, the court had to decide whether the error, if any, was an error of law apparent on the face of the record.

The court held that the referral did not entitle the Approved Medical Specialist to assess the degree of permanent impairment arising from body parts not specifically referred. The court found that the referral was limited to the assessment of impairment arising from the specified body parts. The concession by the employer regarding the left wrist was not relevant to the scope of the referral. The court also determined that the error, if any, was not an error of law apparent on the face of the record. Consequently, the plaintiff’s application for judicial review was dismissed.

The final orders of the court were that the application for judicial review was dismissed, with the plaintiff to pay the costs of the second defendant.