New South Wales Consolidated Acts

WORKPLACE INJURY MANAGEMENT AND WORKERS COMPENSATION ACT 1998 - SECT 126

126 Copies of certain medical reports to be supplied to worker

(cf former s 134)

(1) In this section--

"insurer" means a licensed insurer or a former licensed insurer.

"medical report" , in relation to an injured worker, means a written report by--

(a) a medical practitioner by whom the worker has been referred to another medical practitioner for treatment or tests related to the injury, or

(b) a medical practitioner who has treated the injury, or

(c) a medical practitioner who has been consulted by a medical practitioner referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) in connection with treatment of, or tests related to, the injury.

(2) The regulations may make provision for or with respect to requiring an employer or insurer in possession of a medical report relating to an injured worker to provide a copy of the report to the worker, the worker's legal representative or any other person, if the worker's claim is disputed.

(3) If an employer or insurer fails to provide a copy of a report as required by the regulations under subsection (2)--

(a) the employer or insurer cannot use the opinion or report to dispute liability to pay or continue to pay compensation or to reduce the amount of compensation to be paid and cannot use the report for any other purpose prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this section, and

(b) the report is not admissible in proceedings on such a dispute before the Commission, and

(c) the report may not be disclosed to a medical assessor or an Appeal Panel in connection with the assessment of a medical dispute under Part 7 of Chapter 7.