TUTORIALS

TUTORIAL ONE

Week 1 13 - 17 March
Week 2 20 - 24 March

Since 1 April 1974 New Zealanders have been unable to sue for a personal injury suffered as
a result of an accident. This social change came about because of the recommendations of the
Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry, Compensation for Personal Injury in New
Zealand (13 December 1967), widely known as the Woodhouse Report after the
Commission’s chairman, Sir Owen Woodhouse. The Woodhouse Report is available in hard
copy in the Davis Library. It can also be viewed online via the library catalogue. Please read
the Summary and Parts 2, 3, 6 and 7 of the Report.

The current legislation is the Accident Compensation Act 2001. An aim of this tutorial is for
you to familiarise yourself in an introductory way with the Woodhouse Report’s reasoning
and the key provisions about cover and entitlements in the legislation. These will be covered
in lectures in semester 2. For additional information on the scheme and how it operates
today, see http://www.acc.co.nz

Please come along prepared to answer the following questions. You will need to read the
Woodhouse Report and consult the Accident Compensation Act 2001 to answer some of them:

1. What were the Royal Commission’s original terms of reference? How and why did
they change?
2. What are the guiding principles that the Woodhouse Report considered should be part
of any accident compensation scheme?
3. What were the key reasons the Woodhouse Report rejected the common law action
for negligence?
4. What were the reasons the Commission decided not to include sickness and disease
within the scheme?
5. Applying the key statutory terms, consider whether the following examples are
covered under the legislation. Identify the section(s) of the Accident Compensation
Act 2001 Act responsible for your decision.

(i) Mr A was out tramping in the Tongariro National Park when he fell and broke
his leg.
(ii) Ms B suffered an injury to her Achilles heel caused by long distance running.
(iii) Mr C suffered an injury to his wrist over time called carpal tunnel syndrome
caused by repetitive movements in his work as a meat packer at a freezing
works.
(iv) After wrenching his shoulder tying a trailer down with rope and pulling hard
on the rope, Mr D’s shoulder gradually became more and more painful. X-ray
showed a full thickness rotator cuff tear to his shoulder, as well as fluid and
debris within the bursa of the shoulder. ACC has declined the claim on the
ground that the fluid and debris were consistent with a naturally occurring
degenerative process, and that the injury was caused wholly or substantially
by ageing or disease. Mr D wants to know if he should appeal.
(v) Ms E suffered a fatal heart attack while out running.

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(vi) Mr F suffered a fatal heart attack while lifting heavy crates at work. Normally
an accounts officer, he had been asked to fill in to complete an urgent
delivery, because a labourer who was off work sick that day.
(vii) Ms I is told that her partner was killed in an explosion while at work and
suffers a psychiatric condition.
(viii) Mr J had a metal-on-metal hip replacement in 2007. In 2010, the metal-on-
metal hip implants were recalled as it was discovered that tiny metal
fragments were found to be breaking off and leaking into the blood. This can
lead to metallosis, a rare condition that is caused by the buildup of metallic
debris in the soft tissue of the body. Mr A is still experiencing some pain and
has had a blood test that revealed the presence of elevated iron levels in his
blood. He wishes to have the implant removed.
(ix) What are the key compensation entitlements a claimant is entitled to if
covered by the scheme?