Williamson and Repatriation Commission

[2005] AATA 152

Administrative

Appeals

Tribunal

 

DECISION AND REASONS FOR DECISION [2005] AATA 152

ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL      )

)          No N2003/1623

VETERANS' APPEALS  DIVISION		)
Re		MARGARET WILLIAMSON

Applicant

And REPATRIATION COMMISSION

Respondent

DECISION

Tribunal Dr J D Campbell, Member

Date17 February 2005

PlaceSydney

Decision The decision under review is affirmed.

[SGN] Dr J D Campbell
  Member

CATCHWORDS

VETERANS' ENTITLEMENTS - operational service - kind of death – widow’s pension – decision under review is affirmed.

Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 - sections 9, 120

Repatriation Commission v Cooke (1998) 160 ALR 17

Repatriation Commission v Gosewinckel (1999) FCA 1273

Benjamin v Repatriation Commission (2001)70 ALD 622

Hancock v Repatriation Commission (2003) FCA 711

Bushell v Repatriation Commission (1992) 175 CLR 408

Byrnes v Repatriation Commission (1993) 177 CLR 564

REASONS FOR DECISION

17 February 2005  Dr J D Campbell, Member            

1.      In this matter Mrs Williamson seeks a review of the decision of the Repatriation Commission dated 27 May 2002 that denied her claim lodged on 9 May 2002 for a widow’s pension.

background

2.      Mrs Williamson married her husband on 24 October 1958.  Mr Williamson died on 30 November 1981.  The late Mr Williamson had served in the Australian Army from 1 May 1942 to 12 June 1946, with this service constituting operational service for the purposes of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (“the Act”).

issues

3.      The relevant issues in this matter are:

a)   whether the death of Mr Williamson is related to his service, which requires consideration of what conditions Mr Williamson was suffering prior to his death; and

b)   a consideration of what kind of death he suffered. 

Once the two issues have been considered there is then the further consideration of whether there was a causal connection between his death and aspects of his service.

findings

4.      For the reasons nominated later in this decision, I find that:

a)Mr Williamson was not suffering from ischaemic heart disease at the time of his death; and

b)the kind of death suffered by Mr Williamson was complete heart block caused by a degenerative disorder of the conducting system of the heart; and

c)that the kind of death suffered by Mr Williamson was not causally related to his service.

evidence

5.      Mrs Williamson presented oral evidence at the first hearing in which she stated that she met her husband at Reckitt and Coleman’s in the early 1950s, and at that time she noted he was very nervous and always smoking.  She married Mr Williamson in 1958 and he continued to smoke.  After their marriage Mrs Williamson stated that his emotional symptoms gradually worsened, he was quick to anger but was not violent, electing to walk away, was restless in bed and touchy about his smoking habit.

6.      Mrs Williamson told the Tribunal that Mr Williamson complained of chest pain when she first met him; that this was intermittent, but got worse as he got older and when he increased his smoking.  She stated that he used to hold his chest,…