26/11/2023
Judgment just in: Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd v Gandhi [2023] NSWSC 1251
The Supreme Court has quashed the whole of a decision made by the Medical Appeal Panel (MAP) regarding Mr Gandhi’s claim for workers compensation. Mr Gandhi suffered injury to his lumbar spine and digestive tract issues which he attributed to the use of medications post-surgery. He had pre-existing lumbar spine pathology. Although the MAP held that the proportion of impairment due to Mr Gandhi’s pre-existing condition could not be determined, no reasons were put forward for that conclusion. This was an error. Appeal Panels must provide reasons sufficient to see if an error of law exists. The Court also held that the MAP simply adopted the doctor’s findings regarding Mr Gandhi’s digestive tract issues. No further comments were provided. Given the inadequacy of the MAP’s reasons, the Court quashed the whole of the decision and ordered that the matter be remitted to a differently constituted Appeal Panel.
Read the judgment here: https://tinyurl.com/ColesvGandhi
Summary: https://tinyurl.com/ColesvGandhisum
