25.1.9 Case example - Other contributing causes

In Telstra Corporation Limited v Warren (1997), the respondent had suffered injuries in two motor vehicle accidents. Some time after the accidents, he had been charged with disciplinary offences, including persistent late arrival at work and refusal to follow directions. The Court held that his conse — q — uent depressive state was not solely related to the disciplinary action:

...There was evidence that the pain contributed to the depression and to his refusal to drive the vehicle so that it could not be said that the injury resulted solely from the disciplin — ary charges. It appears to have resulted from the combined effect of the charges and the underlying injury caused by the accident. In my view, it cannot therefore be said that the injury 'resulted' from the charges because it also resulted from the operat — i — ve effect of the underlying injury and therefore the exclusion in S4 of the Act does not apply...