Victorian Current Acts Victorian Current Acts(1) This section applies if a worker who may have an entitlement to recover damages in accordance with Division 2—
(a) in respect of an injury arising out of or in the course of, or due to the nature of, employment believes that that injury or an unrelated medical condition or injury gives rise to an imminent risk of death; or
(b) in respect of an injury that is an asbestos‑related condition arising out of, or in the course of, or due to the nature of, employment.
S. 357(2) amended by No. 44/2014 s. 24(15).
(2) If this section applies, the worker may, subject to compliance with the requirements of this section, bring proceedings in accordance with Division 2 without complying with the requirements of sections 325(2), 326 to 338 and 344(1) and (2).
(3) If a worker commences proceedings under Division 2 on the basis that this section applies, the worker must within 30 days of the commencement of the proceedings apply to an Associate Judge of the Supreme Court—
(a) for an order allowing leave for the worker to proceed nunc pro tunc; and
S. 357(3)(b) amended by No. 44/2014 s. 14.
(b) for an order allowing an expedited hearing of the proceedings if the injury or an unrelated medical condition or injury gives rise to an imminent risk of death of the worker.
Note
An order allowing leave to proceed nunc pro tunc deems proceedings to have commenced before the order was made.
(4) The Associate Judge of the Supreme Court must not grant the orders referred to in subsection (3) unless the Associate Judge of the Supreme Court is satisfied on the balance of probabilities that—
(a) if subsection (1)(a) applies, the injury arising out of or in the course of, or due to the nature of, employment or an unrelated medical condition or injury gives rise to an imminent risk of death of the worker; or
(b) if subsection (1)(b) applies, the injury arising out of, or in the course of, or due to the nature of, employment is an asbestos-related condition.
(5) If the Associate Judge of the Supreme Court does not grant the orders referred to in subsection (3), the Associate Judge of the Supreme Court must make an order that the proceedings be struck out on the grounds that this section does not apply and that the proceedings have not been brought in accordance with Division 2.
(6) If the Associate Judge of the Supreme Court does grant the orders referred to in subsection (3), the worker can only recover damages in accordance with Division 2 if the worker establishes that the worker has a serious injury within the meaning of section 325(2).
(7) If the worker dies from the asbestos-related condition before the hearing of the proceeding, it is established for the purposes of subsection (6) that the worker had a serious injury within the meaning of section 325(2).
(8) In this section, asbestos-related condition has the same meaning as it has in the Asbestos Diseases Compensation Act 2008 .