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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).]