WORKERS' COMPENSATION AND INJURY MANAGEMENT ACT 1981 - SECT 93F
WORKERS' COMPENSATION AND INJURY MANAGEMENT ACT 1981 - SECT 93F
93F . Degree of disability less than 30%, constraints on awards
(1) Unless an
agreement or determination that the degree of disability of the worker is not
less than 30% is recorded for the purposes of section 93E —
(a) the
amount of damages to be awarded is to be a proportion, determined according to
the severity of the injury, of the maximum amount that may be awarded; and
(b) the
maximum amount of damages that may be awarded is Amount A, but the maximum
amount may be awarded only in a most extreme case of a disability of less than
30% in degree.
(2) Subsection (1) has
effect in respect of the amount of a judgment before the operation of
section 92(b).
(3) No entitlement to
damages is created by subsection (1) and that subsection is subject to any
other law that prevents or limits the awarding of damages.
(4) If —
(a)
section 93E(3) does not allow damages to be awarded in respect of the injury;
or
(b)
damages in respect of the injury have been awarded in accordance with
subsection (1),
the employer is not
liable to make any contribution under the Law Reform (Contributory Negligence
and Tortfeasors’ Contribution) Act 1947 (the Contribution Act ) in
respect of damages awarded against another person in relation to the injury.
(5) If
section 93E(3)(b) allows damages to be awarded in respect of the injury
—
(a) the
contributions that the employer may be liable to make under the Contribution
Act in respect of damages awarded against other persons in relation to the
injury are not to exceed the damages that could have been awarded in
accordance with subsection (1); and
(b) if
the employer has made or been directed to make a contribution under the
Contribution Act in respect of damages awarded against another person in
relation to the injury, the amount of damages that may be awarded in
accordance with subsection (1) is reduced by the amount of that contribution.
(6) This section
applies regardless of whether the damages are awarded against one or several
employers.
(7) An issue as to the
amount of damages that may be awarded, is to be determined by reference to
Amount A as in effect on the date on which the determination is made.
(8) In this section
—
Amount A means —
(a) in
relation to the financial year ending on 30 June 2000, $250 000;
(b) in
relation to any subsequent financial year, the nearest whole number of dollars
to —
(i)
the amount obtained by varying Amount A for the preceding
financial year by the percentage by which the amount that the Australian
Statistician published as the Labour Price Index (formerly known as the Wages
Cost Index), ordinary time hourly rates of pay (excluding bonuses) for Western
Australia (the LPI ) varied between the second-last December quarter before
the financial year commenced and the last December quarter before the
financial year commenced; or
(ii)
if the calculation under subparagraph (i) cannot be
performed in relation to a financial year because the LPI for a relevant
quarter was not published, the amount obtained by varying Amount A for the
preceding financial year in accordance with the regulations,
with an amount that is
50 cents more than a whole number of dollars being rounded off to the next
highest whole number of dollars.
[Section 93F inserted: No. 34 of 1999 s. 32(5);
amended: No. 42 of 2004 s. 147; No. 8 of 2009 s. 139(4).]