The Court held that where a serious injury certificate under s335 of the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 (Vic) is expressly limited to injuries suffered on a specific date, and the plaintiff accepted that certificate and consented to dismissal of the serious injury proceeding, the plaintiff's subsequent common law statement of claim must be confined to the injuries identified in the certificate and cannot be broadened to encompass injuries sustained over the entire course of employment. The Court applied Kruisselbrink v Nationwide Maintenance Services Pty Ltd [2010] VSC 260 at [48], holding that the clear wording of the certificate and the plaintiff's informed acceptance of it were determinative, and that the broader material from the serious injury application had been superseded by those events. The plaintiff's argument that the VWA lacked power to issue a partial or limited certificate was rejected, with no authority cited in support and the Court noting nothing in the Act prevents such a process.
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