Tuesday 10 October 2023
An injured worker's bid for permanent impairment compensation has been "unravelled" by a Facebook photo of him playing hockey, in a decision examining the responsibilities of claimants to disclose their activities.
South Australian Employment Tribunal President Justice Steven Dolphin rejected the worker's defence that he didn't tell the doctor who conducted his permanent impairment assessment (PIA) about his hockey games because he wasn't playing the sport by the time of the assessment.
The doctor gave the worker the opportunity to "give a full and accurate account of his sporting activities since his work injury", and the worker's failure to mention playing hockey rendered the PIA findings in his favour "irregular" and unreliable, the President Justice said.
However, he rejected the employer's claim that the worker did not have a compensable injury.
Read the full article on OHS Alert
Lawrence v Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd [2023] SAET 87 (29 September 2023)
Source: OHS Alert