Vivian v Gameover Pty Ltd
[2024] QSC 263 · Williams J
Benjamin Vivian worked as a track supervisor and said he hurt his lower back in January 2018 while carrying heavy go-kart batteries at work. He later developed depression linked to his ongoing pain, and he was never able to return to work. He received WorkCover benefits for several years. Because he did not start a court case within the usual three-year time limit, he applied to the Supreme Court for an extension, arguing that he only learned his combined physical and psychological injuries would permanently stop him from working when a neurologist reported in December 2022. The court refused the extension. The judge found that by early 2022 — when Vivian made total and permanent disability (TPD) claims to his super funds stating he could not work in any capacity — he already knew enough to realise he had a worthwhile claim worth pursuing. As a result, his proposed claim cannot now go ahead.
Incident & injury
Suffered a lumbar spine injury while refitting a go-kart with new batteries (approx 20kg each) and carrying new and 'dead' batteries approximately 20 metres to a storage shed
- Body regions
- Lumbar spine, Psychiatric
- Diagnoses
- L4/5 disc prolapse, Major Depressive Disorder, Adjustment disorder with major depression
- Incident date
- 21 January 2018
Quick facts
- Date of judgment
- 6 November 2024
- Claim type
- WCRA Common Law
- Proceeding
- Interlocutory
- Plaintiff outcome
- Unsuccessful
- Plaintiff age at injury
- ~33 (inferred)
- Occupation
- Track supervisor Manager
- Whole Person Impairment
- 8%
Outcome
The applicant's application to extend the limitation period under s 31 of the Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld) was dismissed. The Court found the applicant already had within his means of knowledge a 'critical mass of information' justifying bringing the action prior to the relevant date of 14 August 2022, so no material fact of a decisive character emerged after that date.
Key issues
Vivian v Gameover Pty Ltd [2024] QSC 263
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