In this episode of P.I. Case Note, accident legal partner and personal injury lawyer Michelle Wright examines the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission’s decision in Bennedick v Workers’ Compensation Regulator [2025] QIRC 240, which establishes crucial principles for proving work injury without diagnosis when medical science cannot provide definitive answers. The case involved Mr. Bennedick, a bulldozer operator at Blackwater Mine who suffered severe neurological symptoms—including headaches, numbness, vision impairment, and cognitive difficulties—after exposure to toxic fumes from Bulldozer 145, yet underwent extensive medical investigations that failed to identify any organic cause for his debilitating condition.
The Commission’s comprehensive analysis reveals how workers can succeed in proving work injury without diagnosis by establishing inference rather than relying on medical certainty. Despite an occupational physician finding “no evidence to confirm that exposure to toxic fumes is the cause,” and extensive MRI scans initially suggesting but ultimately ruling out demyelination, the Commission accepted the causal connection based on: unchallenged evidence of fume exposure, immediate onset of symptoms with clear temporal connection, absence of alternative organic causes, and corroborating evidence from colleagues who experienced similar symptoms after exposure to the same bulldozer. The Commission distinguished between mere conjecture (suggesting possibility) and proper inference (reasonably probable from objective facts), finding that the totality of evidence—including Mr. Bennedick’s treating neurologist’s opinion based on temporal connection and the independent neurologist’s altered opinion at trial—justified an inference of probable causation. This decision demonstrates that proving work injury without diagnosis requires building a compelling circumstantial case through temporal connections, exclusion of alternative causes, and expert evidence rising above mere possibility.
Listen for Michelle Wright’s detailed analysis of this important decision on proving work injury without diagnosis and its implications for toxic exposure claims. If you’re suffering from work-related injuries or illnesses that doctors cannot definitively diagnose, the experienced team at accident legal understands how to build compelling causation cases even without medical certainty. As Queensland’s trusted personal injury lawyers with offices from Brisbane to Cairns, we know how to gather the circumstantial evidence—temporal connections, witness corroboration, expert opinions, and exclusion of alternatives—needed to establish the inference of causation. Contact us for a free consultation on (07) 3740 0200—we’ll help you prove your work injury even when medical science cannot provide all the answers.
