Yandell v SAE Institute Pty Limited - [2024] NSWPIC 392

CERTIFICATE OF DETERMINATION OF MEMBER
CITATION:	Yandell v SAE Institute Pty Limited [2024] NSWPIC 392
APPLICANT:	Samantha Yandell
RESPONDENT:	SAE Institute Pty Limited
MEMBER:	Rachel Homan
DATE OF DECISION:	23 July 2024
CATCHWORDS:	WORKERS COMPENSATION - Workers Compensation Act 1987; claim for compensation pursuant to section 60AA for past domestic assistance; accepted ‘injury’; commutation agreement registered; whether liability to pay the compensation claimed commuted to lump sum; effect of section 87K; Held – the commutation agreement registered commuted the respondent’s full liability in respect of the injury; no remaining entitlement to past expenses pursuant to section 60AA; award in favour of the respondent.
DETERMINATIONS MADE:	The Commission determines: 1. Award for the respondent.

STATEMENT OF REASONS

BACKGROUND

Ms Samantha Yandell (the applicant) sustained a psychological injury arising out of or in the course of her reemployment with SAE Institute Pty Limited (the respondent).
Liability for the applicant’s psychological injury was accepted by the respondent’s insurer and payments of compensation were made in respect of incapacity, medical and related treatment expenses and permanent impairment resulting from the injury.
The insurer also paid compensation for domestic assistance pursuant to s 60AA of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 (the 1987 Act) provided from 16 November 2020 onwards. The payment of domestic assistance compensation from that date coincided with a report prepared by consultant psychiatrist Dr Thomas Wilmot for the respondent on 16 November 2020, in which he assessed of the degree of permanent impairment resulting from the injury to be greater than 15% whole person impairment.
The applicant subsequently claimed compensation for gratuitous domestic assistance pursuant to s 60AA of the 1987 Act for the period from the date of injury (31 May 2018) to 15 November 2020.
Liability to pay the compensation claimed was disputed in a notice issued pursuant to s 78 of the Workplace Injury Management and Workers' Compensation Act 1998 (the 1998 Act) on 27 November 2023. The insurer determined that insufficient evidence had been provided to establish that the person providing assistance had lost income or foregone employment as a result of providing assistance pursuant to s 60AA(3) of the 1987 Act. Furthermore, the insurer was not satisfied that the 15% threshold in s 60AA(1)(c) of the 1987 Act would have been met prior to Dr Wilmot’s report on 16 November 2020.
The decision to dispute liability was maintained following internal review in further notices dated 12 December 2023 and 23 February 2024.
On 13 February 2024, the applicant signed an Application to Register a Commutation Agreement. Part 3 of that application noted that the parties had agreed to a lump sum amount to be paid in commutation of the respondent’s “full liability” in respect of the psychological injury on 31 May 2018. The agreement was registered by the Personal Injury Commission (Commission) on 26 March 2024 and the lump sum was paid to the applicant on 10 April 2024.
On 8 April 2024, the applicant commenced the current proceedings by lodgement of an Application to Resolve…

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.

Continue reading Yandell v SAE Institute Pty Limited

Details

AGLC: Yandell v SAE Institute Pty Limited [2024] NSWPIC 392
Case: [2024] NSWPIC 392
Decision Date: 23 July 2024

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Yandell brought a claim against SAE Institute Pty Limited for compensation for past domestic assistance pursuant to section 60AA of the Workers Compensation Act 1987. The parties accepted that Yandell had suffered an injury within the meaning of the Workers Compensation Act. A commutation agreement was registered, and the question before the court was whether the respondent's liability to pay the compensation claimed had been commuted to a lump sum and, if so, whether the respondent had any remaining entitlement to past expenses under section 60AA. The court found that the registered commutation agreement commuted the respondent's full liability in respect of the injury and that, as a result, there was no remaining entitlement to past expenses. The respondent's motion for judgment was therefore allowed, and judgment was entered in its favour.

The court considered the relevant provisions of the Workers Compensation Act, including sections 60AA, 87K, and 87M, which relate to claims for compensation for past domestic assistance, commutation of liability, and the effect of a commutation agreement on a claim under section 60AA. The court found that the terms of the registered commutation agreement were clear and unambiguous and that, by its terms, the respondent's liability to pay compensation for past domestic assistance was commuted to a lump sum. The court also found that the effect of the commutation agreement was to extinguish the respondent's liability to pay compensation for past domestic assistance, including any claim under section 60AA. The court therefore held that the respondent had no remaining entitlement to past expenses under section 60AA and that the respondent was entitled to judgment in its favour.

Orders