9.2 Percentage of Loss of Efficient Use (LOEU) of a Body Part

Section 12 of the 1930 Act provides for lump-sum compensation for certain losses specified in the Third Schedule of that Act, e.g. loss of an arm, loss of a hand, loss of a ring finger. By S12(6), the loss of a specified part of the body includes 'the permanent loss of the efficient use of that part' (LOEU) in and for the purposes of employment.

Section 12(5) of the 1930 Act further provides that a partial and permanent loss of efficient use is compensated in an amount equivalent to the percentage of LOEU.

Subsections 12(5) and (6) state:

12(5) Where an employee sustains an injury which causes partial and permanent loss of the efficient use of a part of the body specified in the Third Schedule to this Act in and for the purposes of his employment at the date of the injury, there shall be payable an amount of compensation equivalent to such percentage of the amount of compensation payable under this section in respect of the loss of that part as is equal to the percentage of the diminution of the efficient use of that part.

12(6) For the purposes of this section and of the Third Schedule to this Act, the loss of a specified part of the body shall be deemed to include:

a)the permanent loss of the use of that part, and

b)the permanent loss of the efficient use of that part in and for the purposes of his employment at the date of the injury.

Chapter 8 discusses LOEU for the purposes of S39(11) of the 1971 Act. This discussion is for the most part applicable to LOEU under S12(5) and (6) of the 1930 Act, except that the 1930 Act does not explicitly provide that the higher of LOEU for general purposes and LOEU for employment purposes should be used in calculation the amount of compensation.

Nevertheless LOEU under the 1930 should be based on the higher figure (consistently with the 1971 Act), as this approach is beneficial to the injured member.