Hospital worker in compo stoush

THE State Government has failed to manoeuvre its way out of paying workers’ compensation to a Launceston General Hospital employee who faxed in her medical certificate.

In May last year, Specialist Clinic patient services officer Teresa Pilling left work to see her GP about stress she claimed was the result of workplace bullying.

The doctor’s receptionist faxed Ms Pilling’s certificate to the clinic before she returned to work three business days later and handed the original document to her supervisor, the Supreme heard.

When she lodged a workers’ compensation claim for psychological injury a week later, the State Government disputed its obligation to pay.

It argued Ms Pilling failed to meet legislative requirements to give notice as soon as practicable as she’d faxed it to a machine that converted messages to a seldom-checked email account, and her supervisor said Ms Pilling would have been aware the fax and “generic email address” was rarely checked.

In August last year, the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Tribunal rejected the Government’s claim,

Court of

Tasmania saying Ms Pilling satisfied legal provisions by arranging her certificate to be sent to her employer.

The Government appealed the decision, arguing the legislation shouldn’t be applied in the same way when it came to the state as an employer.

It argued the medical certificate should have been sent to Ms Pilling’s supervisor, otherwise the legal conditions could be met by giving notice to any State Government agency or employee, which defeated the purpose of bringing an injury to an employer’s attention.

In his recent appeal decision, Justice Michael Brett agreed the tribunal made a mistake, as it was arguable Ms Pilling’s employer hadn’t consented to receiving notices via fax or advised workers to do so.

He said the Government therefore had a reasonably arguable case that notice of Ms Pilling’s injury wasn’t given as soon as practicable after her injury. But the judge said the Government hadn’t proved her workers’ compensation claim was prejudiced as a result.

Noting Ms Pilling was only late by three days in providing her medical certificate, Justice Brett said there was no evidence suggesting the short delay “had any effect whatsoever” on the Government’s capacity to argue against paying compensation.