Woolworths Limited v Michelle Howarth

Woolworths Limited brought a proceeding against Michelle Howarth in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia concerning the quantum of workers' compensation payable for injuries she sustained at work. Ms Howarth alleged that she injured her left shoulder at work and subsequently suffered from an unrelated injury to her right shoulder. The dispute centred on whether the approved medical specialist (AMS) should have subtracted the restriction in movement in the right shoulder from the whole person impairment (WPI) value of the left shoulder injury. Woolworths argued that the AMS had failed to apply the relevant guidelines and had uncritically accepted Ms Howarth's account of her injuries, thereby denying her procedural fairness. The Federal Circuit Court of Australia was required to determine whether the AMS had erred in law by failing to apply the guidelines correctly and whether Woolworths had denied Ms Howarth procedural fairness.

The court examined the AMS's report and found that it had not applied the relevant guidelines correctly. The AMS had not subtracted the WPI value of the right shoulder injury from the WPI value of the left shoulder injury. The court held that this was a jurisdictional error as it meant that the AMS had failed to apply the correct legal principles. The court also found that Woolworths had not denied Ms Howarth procedural fairness. The AMS had given Ms Howarth an opportunity to provide evidence and had considered all the evidence before making a decision. The court held that the AMS had not uncritically accepted Ms Howarth's account of her injuries.

The court held that the AMS had erred in law by failing to apply the relevant guidelines correctly. The court found that the AMS should have subtracted the WPI value of the right shoulder injury from the WPI value of the left shoulder injury. The court held that this was a jurisdictional error and that the AMS's decision was invalid. The court ordered that the matter be remitted to the AMS for reconsideration in accordance with the correct legal principles. The court did not make any orders regarding procedural fairness as it found that Woolworths had not denied Ms Howarth this right.