Rose v Anglo Coal (Dawson Management) Pty Ltd
[2025] QSC 160 · Kelly J
Andrew Rose worked as an electric shovel operator at the Dawson coal mine near Moura in Central Queensland. In September 2021 he injured his left shoulder while trying to push a stuck tyre down a mine highwall, and later developed right shoulder pain and a psychological condition. He pursued a workers' compensation claim against his employer, Dawson Services. The three-year deadline to start a court claim expired in September 2024. Only in early 2025 did he discover that a separate company, Dawson Management, actually operated the mine and might also be liable. Rose applied to extend the deadline. The court accepted that he genuinely did not know about Dawson Management, that nothing had put him on notice of it, and that he had taken all reasonable steps. The judge extended the limitation period to 30 September 2025 and gave him permission to bring proceedings against Dawson Management. The underlying injury claim itself was not decided in this judgment.
Incident & injury
Suffered a left shoulder injury when attempting to physically roll a spare tyre down a highwall; developed right shoulder pain during host employment due to overuse compensating for the left shoulder
- Body regions
- Shoulder, Left shoulder, Right shoulder, Psychiatric (Bilateral)
- Diagnoses
- Left shoulder injury (12% WPI), Right shoulder injury (5% WPI), Persistent chronic neuropathic pain (3% WPI), Adjustment disorder with depressive symptoms
- Incident date
- 30 September 2021
- Location
- Dawson Mine, near Moura, Central Queensland
Quick facts
- Date of judgment
- 11 July 2025
- Claim type
- Hybrid (WCRA + PIPA)
- Proceeding
- Interlocutory
- Plaintiff outcome
- Successful
- Plaintiff age at injury
- Occupation
- Electric shovel operator at a coal mine Machinery Operator / Driver
Outcome
The court extended the limitation period to 30 September 2025 under s 31(2) of the Limitation of Actions Act, finding that the identity of Dawson Management as the mine operator was a material fact of a decisive character not within the applicant's means of knowledge until early 2025. Leave to commence proceedings under s 43 of the PIPA was also granted.
Key issues
Rose v Anglo Coal (Dawson Management) Pty Ltd [2025] QSC 160
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