EARTHQUAKE CLAIMS

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 26, 31 July 1933, Page 8

EARTHQUAKE CLAIMS

BELIEF FOR THE FUNDS

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Several-points of interest in connection with the decision .of the Privy Council allowing tho appeals in the four cases arising out of the Napier earthquake were officially explained to a "Post" reporter today. The appeals were taken wider the Workers' Compensation Act, 1022, and its amendments, the four cases being Brooker v. Borthwick and Sons, Eyan v. Bortkwiek and Sons, Prendergast v. Nelsons (N.Z.) Ltd., and Ashwoll v. Brennan and Manning. As a result of tho earthquako many claims under the Workers' Compensation Act against employers for deaths and injuries received therefrom, involving a large sum in the aggregate, have been made. The four accidents upon which the appeals were based, were all associated with the Hawke 's Bay earthquako of February 3, 1931. In New Zealand the Court of Arbitration has exclusive jurisdiction to deal with cases under the Workers' Compensation Act, and there is no appeal from its decision. Where the parties agree on the facts, however, it is competent for the Supreme Court of Now Zealand to give judgment in a given case pursuant to the provisions of the Declaratory Judgments Act, 1908, and thereafter there lies an appeal to the Court of Appeal of New Zealand, and thence, to the Privy Council. In order to facilitate dealing with the large number of earthquake claims, the parties agreed on such general and special facts as appeared to them to bo relevant, and tho four cases which have been referred to the Court of Appeal were agreed as being typical of all those arising out,of the earthquake disaster. All the otner cases have been standing over ' pending the Privy Council's decision -in. these four. THE APPELLANTS' CASE. Under the Workers' Compensation Act, 1922, it is provided that if. many employment to which the Act applies, personal injury by accident arising' out of and in the course of the employment is caused to a worker, the.employer shall be liable to pay compensation in accordance with the of the Act. Shortly, the case of the appellants was that so far as the deaths, and severe injuries were concerned, the earthquake as an earthquake killed or injured nobody, it was only the immediate neighbourhood of brick walls, buildings and parapets, and in some cases wooden biuldirigs and verandahs in and about which the workers' duties required them to be which resulted in the deaths and- serious injuries,: forming the grounds for the , compensation* claims involved. ' The Privy Council isreported to have held that the accidents1 on which the actions were based and which occurred during the earthquake of February, 1931, arose "out of" and in the course of the employment of - the workers involved therein, because they were injured by physical contact with a portion of the premises in wl)tieh they were employed, or were injured whilst in the street in the course of their employment. . .' •: HELF FOR LITIGANTS. Subscribers to the relief fund will be interested to know that the financial assistance to prosecute the appeals, which were of considerable tooment to a number of persons, has been afforded out of the moneys subscribed for the sufferers in the Hawke's - Bay earthquake. When it was' considered desirable to appeal against the decision of the New Zealand Court of Appeal, it was found that the circumstances of the appellants made it impossible for them to provide the requisite costs. The Central Committee of the Hawke's Bay Earthquake Relief Fund recognised that it was proper, seeing that there was a reasonable rchancc of success, to assist sufferers to take their claims to the ultimate tribunal, and, moreover, in the event of compensation being obtained in respect of deaths or injuries of workers through the earthquake, there would be a corresponding saving to the relief funds, which would thereby be relieved of a portion of the burden of providing for persons injured or the depeudants of persons injured or killed. The charge against tho, fund in this respect has been a heavy one, and any relief. obtainable would contribute to its additional stability. Accordingly, in appropriating the-relief funds,, the Central Committee decided to set aside a sum to be utilised for the purpose of the compensation appeals, and authorised the Prime Minister t (chairman of the Central Committee) and the Public Trustee (executive officer) to make the required arrangements. The Public Trustee conferred on several occasions with the appellants' legal advisers, and completed the fina-ncial arrangements in connection with the appeals. At the request of tho solicitors, the Public Trustee also perused the submissions to the Privy Council before transmission to counsel in England. • It is explained that the effect of the decision will be that, where compensation is obtained the provision mado for sufferers in tho disaster out of the relief funds will be reviewed, aud any necessary adjustments made. Furthermore, the advance1 made for costs out of tho relief fund is to be refunded out. of any moneys recovered.