In this episode of P.I. Case Note, Michelle Wright examines the Queensland District Court’s decision in Sawtell v State Queensland [2025] QDC 134, which establishes strict compliance requirements for including a secondary injury workers’ compensation claim in common law damages proceedings. The case involved Miss Sawtell, who suffered a lumbar spine injury in May 2021 and properly followed the statutory regime for that primary injury, but whose claim for psychiatric injury—which developed as a consequence of her back injury and treatment—was struck out entirely because she attempted to add it to her common law claim without first obtaining a notice of assessment.
The Court’s uncompromising analysis reveals the procedural trap facing workers who develop a secondary injury workers’ compensation claim after their primary claim has progressed through the statutory gateway. Despite Miss Sawtell lodging an income protection claim for psychiatric injury in June 2024 and undergoing independent medical examinations in December 2024 and February 2025, she filed an amended statement of claim in April 2025 including the psychiatric injury before it had been assessed, accepted or rejected by the insurer, and before it had been subject to the pre-court process under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act. Miss Sawtell argued she didn’t need to follow the statutory regime where a consequential injury develops over time, relying on several cases—but the Court found most were not under the WCRA, and the two that were actually supported the requirement for a notice of assessment. The Court determined there was no authority for the proposition that secondary or consequential injuries are exempt from strict compliance with the legislative regime, and struck out the psychiatric injury paragraphs under Rule 171 of the UCPR for disclosing no reasonable cause of action.
Listen for Michelle Wright’s detailed analysis of this important decision on secondary injury workers’ compensation claim requirements and the critical timing issues. If you’re suffering from psychological injuries or other secondary conditions that developed from your original workplace injury, the experienced team at accident legal understands the strict procedural requirements for including these injuries in your claim. As Queensland’s trusted personal injury lawyers, we ensure every injury—primary and secondary—goes through the proper statutory process including notice, assessment, and pre-court procedures before being included in common law proceedings. Contact us for a free consultation on (07) 3740 0200. We’ll protect your right to claim for all injuries by ensuring strict compliance with the legislative regime from the outset.