In serious injury applications under s 134AB of the Accident Compensation Act 1985 (Vic), a claimant's failure to report an alleged work-related injury to treating medical practitioners for an extended period after the alleged incident is a powerful factor supporting a finding that no compensable injury occurred. While credible objective evidence external to the plaintiff may overcome adverse credibility findings, medical opinions that are heavily dependent on the plaintiff's own history do not constitute such independent objective evidence. An error by the primary judge in relation to one piece of evidence will not vitiate the overall finding where the critical reasoning rests on other, independent grounds.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 12 later cases that cite this judgment.
1 of the 12 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.