Hodgson v State of Queensland
[2023] QDC 171 · Williamson KC DCJ
The plaintiff brought a workers' compensation common-law claim against his employer, the State of Queensland, for a lower-back injury suffered at work. When his lawyers filed the court documents, they made a typing error in the statement of claim, writing the injury date as 9 December 2021 when it should have been 6 December 2019. The plaintiff applied to correct this mistake. The State opposed the correction, arguing the original claim was invalid because it referred to the wrong injury date and that fixing it would improperly revive a claim filed outside the strict 60-day time limit that applies after a workers' compensation conference. The judge rejected the State's arguments, finding the original claim had in fact been filed on time, the correction simply fixed an error and did not change the substance of the claim, and the proceeding remained valid. The court allowed the amendment and ordered the State to pay the plaintiff's legal costs of the application, describing the State's position as misconceived.
Incident & injury
Workplace injury during the course of employment with the defendant causing musculoskeletal strain of the lumbar spine including aggravation of pre-existing lumbar degeneration
- Body regions
- Lumbar / thoracic spine
- Diagnoses
- musculoskeletal strain of the lumbar spine with aggravation of pre-existing lumbar degeneration
- Incident date
- 6 December 2019
Quick facts
- Date of judgment
- 29 September 2023
- Claim type
- WCRA Common Law
- Proceeding
- Interlocutory
- Plaintiff outcome
- Successful
- Occupation
- Not stated
Outcome
The court allowed the plaintiff's application for leave to file an amended statement of claim correcting the pleaded injury date from 9 December 2021 to 6 December 2019, finding the amendments did not introduce a new cause of action and did not render the proceeding invalid. The defendant was ordered to pay the plaintiff's costs of the application.
Key issues
Hodgson v State of Queensland [2023] QDC 171
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