Mount Thorley Operations Pty Ltd v Farrugia [2020] NSWDC 798

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Mount Thorley Operations Pty Ltd v Farrugia [2020] NSWDC 798 Hearing dates: 03 September 2020 Date of orders: 03 September 2020 Decision date: 03 September 2020 Jurisdiction: Civil Before: Neilson DCJ Decision: Application for Medical Panel struck out. Catchwords: COAL MINERS WORKERS COMPENSATION EFFECT OF A REDEMPTION W worked for E for about 20 years in an open cut coal mine. His last day of work was 17 November 1999 - On 20 March 2001 Bishop CCJ approved a lump sum redemption of $100,000, which sum was paid to W shortly thereafter – On 7 April 2020 W made a claim for lump sum compensation for 5% severe bodily disfigurement, caused by solar skin damage – On the same day he applied for a medical panel to assess his claim – E, by summons, moved the Court to strike out the application for a medical panel – Question before the Court was whether the redemption redeemed the employer's liability to W for solar skin damage which he was not aware of at the time of the redemption. Held: the redemption had redeemed the employer's liability for a latent injury to W's skin, an organ of his body – Application for Medical Panel struck out. Legislation Cited: Workers Compensation Act 1987 Cases Cited: Durno v Coal Mines Insurance Pty Ltd (unreported, 23 July 2018) Texts Cited: Gould's Medical Dictionary, 1979, McGraw-Hill Schmidt's Attorneys' Dictionary of Medicine, 1992, Matthew Bender Category: Principal judgment Parties: Mount Thorley Operations Pty Ltd – Plaintiff Angelo Lino Farrugia – Defendant Representation: Counsel: T. Rowles – Plaintiff D. Benson – Defendant File Number(s): RJ00219/20 Publication restriction: Nil.