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Accident Compensation Act 2001

Miscellaneous provisions - Proceedings

318: Proceedings for personal injury caused by work-related gradual process, disease, or infection

You could also call this:

"How to get help if you're hurt slowly at work or get sick because of your job"

If you get hurt at work over time, or because of a disease or infection related to your job, there are special rules about what you can do. These rules apply to injuries covered by the current law and older laws too.

You can't go to court in New Zealand to ask for money for these kinds of injuries. The law doesn't allow it. This rule has been in place since 1 April 1993. If you started a case before that date, you can finish it.

There are some things you can still go to court for, even if they're related to your work injury. You can ask for money if your property was damaged. You can also go to court if someone broke a promise in a contract, as long as it's not about accident insurance. If you were fired unfairly or have other problems at work, you can still take those to court too.

But remember, even in these cases, the court can't give you money for the injury itself. They can only decide on the other parts of your problem.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM103475.

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Work and jobs > Worker rightsWork and jobs > Workplace safetyHealth and wellbeing > Healthcare services
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Part 9Miscellaneous provisions
Proceedings

318Proceedings for personal injury caused by work-related gradual process, disease, or infection

  1. This section applies to proceedings for damages arising directly or indirectly out of personal injury caused by a work-related gradual process, disease, or infection that is—

  2. personal injury covered by this Act; or
    1. personal injury covered by the former Acts.

      1. No person may bring proceedings to which this section applies independently of this Act in any court in New Zealand, whether the proceedings are under any rule of law or any enactment.

      2. Subsection (2) does not prevent a person who commenced proceedings to which this section applies before 1 April 1993 from completing the proceedings.

      3. Subsection (2) does not prevent any person bringing proceedings relating to, or arising from,—

      4. any damage to property; or
        1. any express term of any contract or agreement (other than an accident insurance contract under the Accident Insurance Act 1998); or
          1. the unjustifiable dismissal of any person or any other personal grievance arising out of a contract of service.

            1. However, no court, tribunal, or other body may award compensation in any proceedings referred to in subsection (4) for personal injury of the kinds described in subsection (1).