The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) has rejected an appeal launched by a former Centrelink worker who had claimed ongoing injuries and depression stemmed from a fall she had at the welfare agency.
The appeal was over a claim by the employee that a fracture, which Comcare accepted liability for in 1999, had led to the permanent impairment of her left foot. Comcare denied liability for a subsequent claim in 2002.
However, the employee ramped up her battle for compensation after a brief reprieve in 2003, and has since claimed chronic pain that she argued was caused by the injury in 1998.
Comcare denied that the worker actually had the disorder, and argued that even if she did, it wasn’t due to the initial injury at Centrelink.
The AAT last week said in its conclusions that the worker had “exaggerated, if not fabricated, her symptoms”, which by 2006 had extended to claims of depression and psychological disorders. It said it was not satisfied that she suffered from chronic pain disorder, and rejected any connection, if it did exist, to the injury in 1998.
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