WorkCover Queensland v Turner Freeman & Anor

[2020] QCA 194

Queensland Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Workers' Compensation
2. › Compensation for death of worker
3. › Non-dependent spouse, issue or next of kin
4. › Entitlement to compensation under s 201A
5. › Whether entitlement extinguished by settlement of deceased worker's personal injury claim
6. › Whether personal injury and death constitute same 'injury' for purposes of s 119
7. › Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld), ss 9, 32, 119, 194, 196, 201A, 207B
1. Workers' Compensation
2. › Recovery of compensation
3. › Insurer's charge on damages
4. › Whether charge attaches to settlement of personal injury claim where compensation paid for worker's death
5. › Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld), s 207B
1. Contract
2. › Release
3. › Construction of deed of release
4. › Whether general words of release extend to claims not in contemplation of parties
5. › Whether settlement of personal injury claim released potential death-related claims
1. Appeal
2. › Leave to appeal
3. › District Court of Queensland
4. › Whether leave should be granted under s 118(3)
5. › Point of law of general importance
6. › District Court of Queensland Act 1967 (Qld), s 118(3)

Quick Take

Section 119 of the WCRA does not extinguish an entitlement to death compensation under s 201A where the only settlement or judgment for damages relates to the deceased worker's personal injury claim maintained under s 66 of the Succession Act 1981 (Qld). The worker's personal injury and the worker's death are separate 'injuries' for the purposes of s 119, and the section has a distributive operation so that the entitlement of one category of person (e.g., non-dependent spouse) is not extinguished by the settlement of a claim by a different category (e.g., the worker's estate). WorkCover's charge under s 207B may attach to damages recovered in a future death-related claim but does not attach to the settlement of the personal injury proceedings.