Workers' Compensation and Injury Management Act 1981 (WA)
Appeal must relate to question of law
Quick Take
1Under s 393 of the Workers' Compensation and Injury Management Act 2023 (WA), an appeal to the Court of Appeal must relate to a question of law; challenges to the weight given to expert medical evidence and to findings of fact, including credibility findings, are questions of fact and do not engage the appellate jurisdiction.
2A litigant who has failed before both an arbitrator and the District Court faces a high threshold for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal: the court will require a reasonably clear case of alleged legal error, and leave to reagitate rejected arguments ought not be granted as a matter of course, even where substantive rights are involved.
3Where an arbitrator's error of law is identified but the appellate court independently assesses the evidence and concludes the outcome would not have differed, the error is not material and does not warrant the grant of leave on further appeal.
