Statement of Principles concerning acute articular cartilage tear No. 53 of 2010 (Cth)
Statement of Principles
concerning
ACUTE ARTICULAR CARTILAGE TEAR
No. 53 of 2010
for the purposes of the
Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986
and
Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004
Title
This Instrument may be cited as Statement of Principles concerning acute articular cartilage tear No. 53 of 2010.
Determination
This Statement of Principles is determined by the Repatriation Medical Authority under subsection 196B(2) of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (the VEA).
Kind of injury, disease or death
(a) This Statement of Principles is about acute articular cartilage tear and death from acute articular cartilage tear.
(b)For the purposes of this Statement of Principles, "acute articular cartilage tear" means an injury involving tearing of the articular (hyaline) cartilage of a joint resulting in a sudden onset of pain and tenderness, with or without accompanying symptoms and signs of swelling, bruising, or loss of functional ability occurring within the 24 hours following the injury. This definition excludes chronic tears and degenerative tears of articular cartilage.
Basis for determining the factors
The Repatriation Medical Authority is of the view that there is sound medical-scientific evidence that indicates that acute articular cartilage tear and death from acute articular cartilage tear can be related to relevant service rendered by veterans, members of Peacekeeping Forces, or members of the Forces under the VEA, or members under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (the MRCA).
Factors that must be related to service
Subject to clause 7, at least one of the factors set out in clause 6 must be related to the relevant service rendered by the person.
Factors
The factor that must as a minimum exist before it can be said that a reasonable hypothesis has been raised connecting acute articular cartilage tear or death from acute articular cartilage tear with the circumstances of a person’s relevant service is:
(a)having a significant physical force applied to or through the affected joint at the time of the clinical onset of acute articular cartilage tear; or
(b)inability to obtain appropriate clinical management for acute articular cartilage tear.
Factors that apply only to material contribution or aggravation
Paragraph 6(b) applies only to material contribution to, or aggravation of, acute articular cartilage tear where the person’s acute articular cartilage tear was suffered or contracted before or during (but not arising out of) the person’s relevant service.
Inclusion of Statements of Principles
In this Statement of Principles if a relevant factor applies and that factor includes an injury or disease in respect of which there is a Statement of Principles then the factors in that last mentioned Statement of Principles apply in accordance with the terms of that Statement of Principles as in force from time to time.
Other definitions
For the purposes of this Statement of Principles:
"death from acute articular cartilage tear" in relation to a person includes death from a terminal event or condition that was contributed to by the person’s acute articular cartilage tear;
"relevant service" means:
(a)operational service under the VEA;
(b)peacekeeping service under the VEA;
(c)hazardous service under the VEA;
(d)warlike service under the MRCA; or
(e)non-warlike service under the MRCA;
"terminal event" means the proximate or ultimate cause of death and includes:
(a) pneumonia;
(b) respiratory failure;
(c) cardiac arrest;
(d) circulatory failure; or
(e) cessation of brain function.
Date of effect
This Instrument takes effect from 30 June 2010.
Dated this eighteenth day of June 2010
The Common Seal of the )
Repatriation Medical Authority )
was affixed to this instrument )
in the presence of: )
KEN DONALD
CHAIRPERSON
0
0
0