Victorian Trades Hall Council. The voice of Victorian workers since 1856.Victorian Trades Hall Council. The voice of Victorian workers since 1856.

Spinal Injuries Legal Backflip

By Brian Boyd, VTHC Secretary 22 August 2007

Victorian unions gathered on the steps of the State Parliament on Monday 20 August 2007 calling on the State Government to abide by the umpire’s decision.
 
The rally was about an injured worker seeking to have his rights to compensation fully realized.  His case is one that affects only the most serious spinal injuries.
 

Two court cases sided with Paul Taylor in this important compensation matter (Taylor vs Mountain Pine).

Workers Compensation is always a big issue for workers and the broader community. In recent times there have been three successive premium cuts for employers, granted by the VWA.
 
The WorkCover Authority returned a profit of $1.2 billion for the financial year to end of June 2006. Paul Taylor will receive an extra $20,000 as a result of his court cases if they are allowed to stand.
 
It is estimated that it will only take $20 million to fund any further claims for injuries of this type, that have occurred in the last 10 years.
 

The VWA can afford this fair thing.

The rally acknowledged the struggles and effort of Paul Taylor, who couldn’t be there.  However, his lawyer, John Binney, travelled from near the NSW border to be at the rally in Paul’s stead.

Speakers at the rally pointed out the current Victorian government had a proud history of supporting workers’ rights and argued it should continue to do so.
 

Umpire’s Decision

The State Government was strongly encouraged to abide by the umpire’s decision.  There was a Supreme Court decision on this matter in December 2006.  Then the Court of Appeal decision in July 2007, where judges ruled 3-0 again in favour of Paul Taylor.
 
It should be noted there is a review of the Victorian Accident Compensation Act coming up later this year.  Many parties have concerns about the AMA Guidelines.
 
The Supreme Court clarified that an assessment of back impairment used to calculate lump sum compensation should be taken following the injury rather than following any surgery.  The only group of claimants affected by this decision are those with significant and severe spinal injuries.
 

Retrospective

Now for the State Government to talk about introducing retrospective legislation which would strip away compensation rights won by Paul Taylor’s court cases, is not acceptable.
 

It was this government that said it could not introduce retrospective legislation to provide common law rights to cover workers injured between 1997 and 1999.  We were told it was bad policy.

Now the government thinks it is OK to bring in retrospective law in the Paul Taylor case.
 

Affordable and Decent
WorkCover can afford to pay Paul Taylor.  The government doesn’t need retrospective legislation.

It is affordable.  It is decent.


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