Workers Compensation Law - When Does the Six-Month Restriction Kick In?

For 12 years, Menka Petrevska was employed as a process worker at Unilever’s Streets ice cream factory, where noisy machinery gradually caused her to suffer hearing loss.

Because her injury occurred slowly, Mrs Petrevska didn’t realise the damage that had occurred.

It was only fourteen years later that she received medical advice telling her that not only had she suffered a loss of hearing, but that it was the result of her noisy former workplace.

Ordinarily, workers only have just six months to make a claim under the New South Wales workers’ compensation system after suffering an injury.

Unilever argued against her claim, saying that it had been lodged outside this statutory time limit.

But Mrs Petrevska challenged that view, arguing that the six month period only began from the time she received the medical diagnosis of her hearing loss, and its cause.

The key question was when Mrs Petrevska first became aware of the hearing loss.

This was complicated by the fact that it had been a gradual injury that occurred over many years, as well as the fact that hearing loss has many possible causes, including disease, ageing, and noise exposure.

In a decision that set a significant precedent for workers who suffer workplace injuries only diagnosed some time after occurring, the Court of Appeal agreed with her.

Their finding is particularly significant for injuries with a gradual onset, such as hearing loss or skin cancer, as it allows workers to access compensation even if they no longer do the job which contributed to the condition.

The outcomes of more than fifty other cases were put on hold while Mrs Petrevska’s case was heard, while the decision will potentially impact on thousands more cases in future.

While Mrs Petrevska’s victory means the time limit for making a compensation claim doesn’t begin running until a worker is aware of both the injury, and the cause, the strict six-month restriction does kick in from that time.

Importance of Having a Will - What Happens if a Person Passes on Before Signing Their Will

Wills are certainly one of the most popular reasons for people to see a lawyer.  That’s understandable, if you are in a position to leave assets you have accumulated over a lifetime to those who are dear to you, you want to make sure your money or assets are divided up according to what you want.

A clear and unambiguous Will is a great gift to leave to your nearest and dearest.  Everyone knows where they stand and the potential for disputation and bad feeling is minimised.  An unclear Will is a recipe for great upheaval and potential unhappiness amongst the people you care about most.

A recent court decision in the NSW Court of Appeal has clarified the importance of being clear in your instructions to any solicitor tasked with preparing your Will.

In the case, the son of the deceased person took his mothers Solicitor to court because, although his mother had started down the road of preparing a new Will, his mother had died before the Solicitor had finalised the paperwork and the signing the new formal Will.  

The son would have been a beneficiary of more of his mother’s estate if the new Will had been signed.

Although a lower court initially found against the Solicitor, the Court of Appeal overturned that decision.

Basically, the take out message from the case is that having your affairs completely in order as you enter your last days is critically important.  If there is any risk of imminent death, an informal Will can be offered by a Solicitor.  

If you have given instructions to a solicitor and are unable to sign a formal Will the same day, you should ask the solicitor if you can sign the instructions you give the solicitor.  There are also other avenues available to avoid complications.

This would mean that if anything happened to you between giving instructions and signing the formal Will, your instructions could be admitted as an informal Will to the court.