austlii:nsw/NSWPICMP/2025/514
General information, not legal advice.
NSWPICMP
2025-07-15
Original judgment source is linked above.
"The applicant has been in the employ of the respondents over his career of more than forty years, During his employment, the applicant has experienced frequent exposure in the sun for extended periods of time. The applicant has since developed skin cancer and facial disfiguration as a result. Please refer to the applicant's statements for further information."
"Mr Parmenter left school after completing year 9 and he initially worked as a labourer and rigger. After obtaining a truck driver's licence, he worked as a truck driver for the 37 years and for three years he worked on the roads operating Stop/Go signs. While working as a truck driver he would be exposed to the sun for several hours each day and sometimes he applied sunscreen cream and sometimes he wore a hat; however, he is no longer working because of his shoulder injuries."
"Pre-existing skin sun damage. It was noted that Mr Parmenter had a skin cancer removed from his right temple about 10 years before this assessment, he had also noted a suspicious lesion on his nose in November 2019, but it had apparently resolved spontaneously. In addition to this, he has had a working life in which he had repeated sun exposure."
"The Appeal Panel was correct in the present case to address the subject matter of the ground of appeal, set aside the medical assessment certificate and issue another certificate including the amended assessments and the original unchallenged assessment. In doing so it neither purported to reassess the unchallenged finding nor to adopt the medical assessors' reasoning with respect to that finding; neither course was part of its statutory function."
"Further, the permanent impairment that the assessor has deemed as pre-existing is due to the appellant's employment in previous relevant employment. The relevant employment being employment that required the claimant to experience continued sun exposure over prolonged periods of time. Again, there is no evidence to suggest that anything else but the appellant's employment with the respondent and his previous employers has contributed to the contracting of this disease injury. Again, s 68B(2) of the WCA Act therefore applies, negating the need for the Assessor to make any deduction pursuant to s 323 of the WIM Act."
"For the purposes of this matter, there is no previous relevant employment. The only employer on risk for this injury is the first respondent. Therefore the compensation which would be payable is not subject to apportionment, and there is no previous relevant employment within the meaning of section 68B(2)."
"The respondent submits that the MAP would be satisfied that on the evidence before them the appellant suffered from pre-existing skin cancer conditions prior to the commencement of his employment in 2020. The appellant has admitted that he had a skin cancer removed in 2015, a suspicious lesion in 2019, and he consulted a dermatologist 20 years prior due to lesions on his forearms."
"(2) When determining the compensation payable by an employer in a case in which section 15 applies (disease of such a nature as to be contracted by a gradual process), section 323 of the 1998 Act applies to that compensation subject to the following -
(a) there is to be no deduction under section 323 of the 1998 Act for any proportion of the permanent impairment that is due to the worker's employment in previous relevant employment (as defined in paragraph (b)) except any such proportion for which compensation under this Division (as in force at any time) or section 16 of the former Act has been paid or is payable,
(b) for the purposes of paragraph (a)
'previous relevant employment' is employment to the nature of which the disease was due by a previous employer who is liable under section 15 to contribute in respect of the compensation being determined (or who would be so liable if the requirement to contribute were not limited to employers who employed the worker during a particular period)."
(a) means personal injury arising out of or in the course of employment,
(b) includes a
'disease injury' which means--
(i) a disease that is contracted by a worker in the course of employment but only if the employment was the main contributing factor to contracting the disease, and
(ii) the aggravation, acceleration, exacerbation or deterioration in the course of employment of any disease, but only if the employment was the main contributing factor to the aggravation, acceleration, exacerbation or deterioration of the disease".
"(1) If an injury is a disease which is of such a nature as to be contracted by a gradual process-
(a) the injury shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to have happened--
(i) at the time of the worker's death or incapacity, or
(ii) if death or incapacity has not resulted from the injury--at the time the worker makes a claim for compensation with respect to the injury, and
(b) compensation is payable by the employer who last employed the worker in employment to the nature of which the disease was due."
"Whilst self-employed at GBY Lawn Care and Maintenance, I would operate both ride on lawn mowers and push lawnmowers. I confirm that whilst operating the mowers, I would always wear full protective gear including a full brim hat, cap with earmuffs, safety sunglasses, gloves, a long sleeve shirt, short sleeve shirt, long pants, boots and sunscreen."
"Mr Parmenter suffers from facial disfigurement and scarring from the excisions of multiple skin cancers. The skin cancers are secondary to the cumulative effects of actinic radiation from the sun.
His relatively short period of employment with Roadworx Surfacing Pty Limited would most likely have added to the accumulating effects but, considering his history of sun exposure in other places of employment and most probably other areas of his life, it was not the sole cause of his sun damaged skin and development of skin cancers."
"It is my opinion that on the balance of probabilities, it is unlikely that there is a connection between your client employment and the pathology that I have diagnosed. This is given the history of his previous exposure to the sun for well over 30 years in his line of work prior to his employment with Grundys Waste. There is also a previous history that 10 years ago he had a skin cancer removed from his right temple, as well as cryotherapy for skin lesions to his arms."
"It is my opinion that on the balance of probabilities it is unlikely that there is total connection between your client's employment and the pathology that I have identified. This is given the history of his previous exposure to sun for well over 30 years in his line of work as a truck driver prior to Grundy's Waste. He started work with Grundy's Waste in 2020.
His development of the recent skin cancers is only partially caused by his employment with Grundy's Waste."
"Your client has had previous skin cancers prior to him starting employment with Grundy's Waste. He was a truck driver for well over 30 years prior to starting with Grundy's Waste. He has also had a previous skin cancer excision from his arm 10 years before he started with Grundy's Waste. Therefore it is my opinion that the majority of his disease injury to his face is attributable to his pre-existing work as a truck driver. It would be appropriate to attribute 80% deduction from the impairment that I have attributed due to his facial disfigurement.
The total impairment of your client from facial disfigurement due to his employment with Grundy's Waste is therefore 12% minus 9.6%% (80% deduction) = 2% WPI (rounded off).
The total impairment of your client from his facial disfigurement due to employment with Grundy's Waste is therefore 2% WPI."
"Mr Parmenter has had multiple exposures to sun throughout his career working as a crane operator, truck driver and dogman. As stated in 'Educational / Occupational History', he had significant periods of sun exposure especially in the 1980s and 1990s and early 2000s which did not involve any regular sun cream according to Mr Parmenter. He worked for 13 years in Wilson Cranes from 1987 to 2000. Following this he worked for Whyco Cranes from 2000 to 2003 and then another seven years with NSW Precast Cranes from 2003 to 2010 prior to working for Melrose Cranes and Rigging from 2010 to 2014 when he stopped his role as a crane driver.
It is highly likely that all of these jobs contributed to his sun exposure and the development of skin cancer. Similarly, working as a traffic controller from 2014 to 2018 as well as a labourer with Fennec Electrical from 2018 to 2020 and working in Grundy's Waste."
"Thus to establish a pre-existing condition for the purposes of s 323(1) there must, at the relevant date, be an actual condition although it may be asymptomatic. A mere predisposition or even a susceptibility is not sufficient to constitute a condition."
This Certificate is issued pursuant to s 328(5) of the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998.
The Appeal Panel revokes the Medical Assessment Certificate of Medical Assessor Giles and issues this new Medical Assessment Certificate as to the matters set out in the Table below:
Chapter, page and paragraph number in Guidelines
Proportion of permanent impairment due to pre-existing injury, abnormality or condition
Sub-total/s % WPI (after any deductions in column 6)
Total % WPI (the Combined Table values of all sub-totals)
[1] The fourth edition guidelines are issued pursuant to s 376 of the Workplace Injury and Workers Compensation Act 1998 (the 1998 Act).
[2] Clause 1.1 of the fourth edition guidelines.
[3] [2021] NSWCA 304 (Burton).
[4] At [35], Leeming and McCallum JJA agreeing.
[7] [2013] NSWSC 629 (Clinen).
[8] [2021] NSWPICMP 36 (Riley).
[9] [2010] NSWSC 78 (Cole).
[11] Respondent's submissions, par 2.23.
[12] Crisp v Chapman [1994] NSWCA 73; (1994) 10 NSWCCR 492 at [495].
[13] Jaffarie v Quality Castings Pty Ltd (No 2) [2018] NSWCA 88 at [80]- [81].
[14] Haroun v Rail Corporation New South Wales [2008] NSWCA 192 and Bindah v Carter Holt Harvey Woodproducts Pty Ltd [2014] NSWCA 264 at [119].
[15] [2018] NSWCA 324 (Vannini) at [90].
[32] [2018] NSWCA 324 (Vannini) at [90].
[35] [2015] NSWSC 526 (Ryder) at [54].
[40] [2000] NSWCA 284 (Smart) at [32] and [37], Mason P and Powell JA agreeing.
[42] [2015] NSWSC 1416 (Cullen) at [57].
[44] See at [48] - [49], and [53].
Parmenter
Ians Transport Pty Ltd t/as Grundys Waste [2025] NSWPICMP 514;
(1994) 10 NSWCCR 492
(1976) 133 CLR 580
(1969) 123 CLR 216