ON APPEAL FROM THE SUPREME COURT OF Workers' Compensation-Injury-DiseaseCoal miner-Earning capacity not H. C. OF
affected-Statutory retirement- Four years later-Certificate by medical board -Pneumoconiosis-Partial incapacity-Entitlement to compensation-Fitness for light work - Barred by statute from accepting light work available with last employer-No earnings during twelve months preceding injury " Average weekly earnings Workers' Compensation Act 1926-1946 (N.S.W.) (No. 15 of 1926-No. 41 of 1946), 88. 6, 7 (1), (3), (4), 9, 11 (1)-Coal and Oil Shale Mine Workers (Pensions) Act 1941-1942 (N.S.W.) (No. 45 of 1941- No. 12 of 1942), 8. 5.
A worker who, having attained the age of sixty years, is compulsorily retired from his employment as a mine worker, upon pension, pursuant to the provisions of the Coal and Oil Shale Mine Workers (Pensions) Act 1941-1942 (N.S.W.) is not thereby disentitled to compensation under the Workers' Compensation Act 1926-1946 (N.S.W.) in respect of incapacity subsequently arising from an industrial disease contracted prior to his retirement.
So held by Starke, Dixon and McTiernan JJ. (Latham C.J. dissenting). In the case of "injury" by disease contracted by gradual process the " average weekly earnings" of the worker should, for the purposes of ss. 9 and 11 of the Workers' Compensation Act 1926-1946 (N.S.W.), be computed in relation to the period of twelve months immediately previous to his ceasing work for the employer who last employed him in employment which con- tributed to the disease.
So held by Starke, Dixon and McTiernan JJ. (Latham C.J. not deciding). Decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales (Full Court) Metro- politan Coal Co. Ltd. v. Williams, (1947) 48 S.R. (N.S.W.) 66; 65 W.N. (N.S.W.) 36; 21 W.C.R. 146, reversed.
On 5th February 1947, Morris Williams, then aged sixty-five years, filed a claim under the Workers' Compensation Act 1926-1946 (N.S.W.) against Metropolitan Coal Co. Ltd. for compensation under that Act. Williams claimed that he had been totally incapaci- tated since 17th October 1946 by pneumoconiosis caused by the inhalation of dust; that the date of injury was 18th February 1942 that his average weekly earnings during the twelve months previous to the injury had been about £8 10s. and that he was not able to earn any amount in some suitable employment or business after the injury.
The company denied its liability to pay compensation on the grounds, inter alia, that the particulars furnished by Williams, as mentioned above, were inaccurate and incomplete; that he did not receive any personal injury arising out of or in the course of his employment; that the incapacity, if any, was not due to injury arising out of or in the course of his employment; that he was not totally incapacitated for work; and that if he were partially incapacitated he was able to earn in a suitable employment in the company's coal mines an amount equal to his average weekly earnings before his injury.
Grounds of appeal
[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.
[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.
[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.
Consideration
[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.
[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.
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Williams v Metropolitan Coal Co Ltd [1948] HCA 8
Case
[1948] HCA 8
Decision Date
CaseChat Overview and Summary
The case of *Williams v Metropolitan Coal Co Ltd* concerned an appeal to the High Court of Australia from a decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The appellant, Morris Williams, a former coal miner, sought compensation under the *Workers' Compensation Act 1926-1946* (NSW) for pneumoconiosis, an industrial disease he contracted during his employment. The respondent, Metropolitan Coal Co Ltd, was his last employer. Williams had been compulsorily retired from his employment in February 1942 upon reaching the age of sixty, and was thereafter in receipt of a pension under the *Coal and Oil Shale Mine Workers (Pensions) Act 1941-1942* (NSW). He later developed pneumoconiosis, which a medical board certified in November 1946 as partially incapacitating and due to his work in coal mines.
The central legal issues before the High Court were whether Williams was disentitled to compensation due to his compulsory retirement and pension, and how his average weekly earnings should be calculated for the purposes of determining compensation. Specifically, the court had to consider whether the fact that Williams was legally barred from accepting light work available with his former employer, due to his age and the provisions of the Pensions Act, affected his entitlement to compensation. Furthermore, the court was required to determine the relevant period for calculating average weekly earnings when the injury, a disease contracted by gradual process, manifested itself significantly after the cessation of employment.
A majority of the High Court, comprising Starke, Dixon, and McTiernan JJ., held that Williams was not disentitled to compensation simply because he had attained the statutory retirement age and was receiving a pension. The Court reasoned that the *Workers' Compensation Act* provides a right to compensation for injury, and the subsequent statutory prohibition on employment did not negate this right. The majority also determined that for injuries by disease contracted by gradual process, the average weekly earnings should be computed by reference to the twelve months preceding the worker's cessation of work for the employer who last employed him in employment contributing to the disease. This approach was taken to ensure that compensation reflected the worker's earning capacity prior to the onset of the incapacity, rather than a period of nil earnings due to factors unrelated to the disease itself. Latham C.J., dissenting, took the view that Williams' incapacity to earn in the coal industry was due to his age and the Pensions Act, not the pneumoconiosis, and therefore he was not entitled to compensation.
The High Court reversed the decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The appeal was allowed, and the matter was remitted to the Workers' Compensation Commission to determine the compensation payable to Williams based on the principles established by the High Court.