FROM THE MINISTER FOR TAC ; MR TIM HOLDING
DATE: Tuesday, August 14, 2007
The Minister for Finance, WorkCover and the Transport Accident Commission
(TAC), Tim Holding, has announced that the Government will legislate to
ensure that injured Victorian workers and people injured in a
transport accident will continue to be appropriately compensated.
Mr Holding said the announcement followed the Court of Appeal’s recent
decision in the case of Mountain Pine Furniture v Taylor, which deals
with the way spinal injuries are assessed for the purposes of lump sum
compensation.
“The Government has carefully considered the implications of this decision
and what it will mean for the compensation schemes administered by the
Victorian WorkCover Authority (VWA) and the TAC,” he said.
“In particular, the Government is concerned that the decision will lead to
inequities in the assessment of permanent impairment, both between differing
types of injuries, and between the TAC and VWA schemes.“As a result,
the Government intends to introduce legislation to provide clarity and
ensure equity is maintained for all injured workers and transport accident
victims, both past and future, in the fair assessment of permanent impairment.”
Mr Holding said that while the Court of Appeal upheld the Supreme
Court’s original decision, it nevertheless indicated concern that the
American Medical Association Guides at the centre of the matter were confusing,
even for doctors, in their application.
“The decision by the Court of Appeal overturned the long-standing and accepted
practice of providing compensation on the basis of an injured person’s permanent
Impairment, which is arrived at after they have undergone any surgery (or other
remedial treatment) and the injury has stabilised, no matter what the injury,”
he said.“Accordingly, the Government will introduce this legislation as soon
as practicable.”
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