Hector v Thiess Pty Limited and others [2020] NSWDC 228

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Hector v Thiess Pty Limited and others [2020] NSWDC 228 Hearing dates: 6-7 May 2020 Date of orders: 07 May 2020 Decision date: 07 May 2020 Before: Neilson DCJ Decision: See [80] to [85] Catchwords: Coal Miner's Workers Compensation – Claims for weekly payments and lump sums – P employed by 1D as a technician and later supervisor of a Coal Handling Processing Plant (CHPP) (formerly known as a "washery") at Mt Owen Mine - P later employed by 2D and 3D as an electrical technician and later electrical supervisor of CHPP at Liddell - Consideration of such duties, compared to underground coal mining and work in an open cut mine.

P developed osteoarthritis/degenerative disease in neck, shoulders, thoracic spine, hips and knees - Conflicting medical evidence on causation – Internal inconsistencies in P's medical evidence - Court not assisted by recitation by experts of formulae - Need to explain why conditions were work related.

Lump sum compensation – Deductible proportion – WCA 1987 s68A as enacted by Act No 89 of 1995 applied to coal miners, not s68A and s168B enacted by Act No 120 of 1996 - Deductible proportion only applies to impairment of the back, neck and pelvis - Rules in Rodios v Trefle still applies to all other losses – at [77]. Legislation Cited: Workers Compensation Act 1987 Workers Compensation (General) Regulation 1995 WorkCover Legislation Amendment Act 1995 No. 89 WorkCover Legislation Amendment Act 1996 No. 120 Cases Cited: Radios v Trefle [1937] WCR 285 Category: Principal judgment Parties: (Plaintiff) Andrew Clifton Hector (1st Defendant) Thiess Pty Ltd (2nd Defendant) Liddell Coal Preparation Plant Pty Limited (3rd Defendant) Liddell Coal Operations Pty Limited Representation: Counsel: (Plaintiff) P. O'Rourke (Defendant) S. McMahon