Szauter v Centennial Northern Mining Services Pty Limited [2015] NSWDC 112

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Szauter v Centennial Northern Mining Services Pty Limited [2015] NSWDC 112 Hearing dates: 18 December 2014; 11 - 12 May 2015 Date of orders: 12 May 2015 Decision date: 12 May 2015 Jurisdiction: Civil Before: Neilson DCJ Decision: Award for the plaintiff for partial incapacity

Awards for plaintiff for permanent impairment of neck and back

Awards for plaintiff for loss of efficient use of the right arm at or above the elbow and loss of efficient use of the left leg at or above the knee

Award for plaintiff for pain and suffering

Defendant to pay plaintiff's expenses under s 60

Defendant to pay plaintiff's costs Catchwords: WORKERS COMPENSATION – Coal miners – Whether plaintiff partially incapacitated for work as a coal miner – Plaintiff would have continued work if not for retrenchment – Highly unlikely to obtain employment as a coal miner due to age, injury history and industry downturn – Incapacitated for work on open labour market in any event

WORKERS COMPENSATION – Coal miners – Expert evidence – Lump sum claims for permanent impairment – Conflicting and problematic expert opinions – Whether pathology constitutional – Cannot exclude aggravation, acceleration or deterioration caused by type of work performed – Discounts applied

WORKERS COMPENSATION – Coal miners – Expert evidence – Lump sum claim for permanent impairment of right hand – No pathology identified – No finding of permanent loss of efficient use Legislation Cited: Workers Compensation Act 1926 Workers Compensation Act 1987 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Arnold Szauter (Plaintiff) Centennial Northern Mining Services Pty Limited (Defendant) Representation: Counsel: Mr D Benson (Plaintiff) Mr B Odling (Defendant)