Accident compensation - Workers compensation - Serious injury - Common law proceeding for damages - Proceeding commenced after 11 November 1997 - Amendments to legislation with retrospective effect to 12 November 1997 - Whether proceeding affected by amendments - Statutes - Interpretation - Retrospective operation - Application to pending proceedings - Accident Compensation Act 1985 (No 10191) ss 135A(2DE) 135A(6A) 138A - Accident Compensation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 1997 (No 107) ss 2(2) 47 51.

Accident compensation - Workers compensation - Serious injury - Common law proceeding for damages - Right to institute proceeding accrued on 26 October 1997 - Proceeding commenced after 11 November 1997 - Amendments to legislation with retrospective effect to 12 November 1997 - Amendment to formal pre-conditions to bringing common law proceeding - Whether proceeding affected by amendments - Statutes - Interpretation - Retrospective operation - Presumption against retrospectivity - Application to pending proceedings - Accident Compensation Act 1985 (No 10191) ss 135A 138 - Accident Compensation (Miscellaneous Amendment) Act 1997 (No 107) ss 47 51 - Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 (No 10096) s 14(2)(e).

Accident compensation - Workers compensation - Serious injury - Common law proceeding for damages - Application for leave to bring proceeding - Entitlement to damages conditional upon date of injury - Injuries occurring on or after 1 December 1992 - Whether precondition to grant of leave to bring proceeding - Accident Compensation Act 1985 (No 10191) s 135A(2) 135A(4)(b) 135A(6) 135A(19)

Evidence - Admissibility - Discretion - Manner of giving of evidence - Personal injuries litigation - Surveillance film of plaintiff - Cross-examination of plaintiff - Defendant seeking to show film to plaintiff - Defendant declining to provide dates on which plaintiff was subjected to surveillance - Defendant declining to provide film maker for cross-examination - Ruling refusing showing of film to plaintiff - Whether trial judge's discretion miscarried - Whether person depicted in film or person who made film was "maker of the statement" - Evidence Act 1958 (No 6246) s 55(1)(a)

Accident compensation - Workers compensation - Serious injury - Common law proceeding for damages - Preconditions for bringing common law proceeding - Proceeding commenced after 12 November 1997 - Amendments to preconditions with retrospective effect to 12 November 1997 - Whether proceeding affected by amendments - Determination by Victorian WorkCover Authority prior to 12 November 1997 that claimant's degree of impairment less than 30% - Statutes - Interpretation - Retrospective operation - Application to pending proceeding - Authority's determination insufficient to entitle claimant to issue proceeding - No accrued right to sue - Failure to issue proceeding within prescribed time - Action barred - Accident Compensation Act 1985 (No 10191) s 135A(2DE) 135A(4) - County Court Act 1958 (No 6230) s 74(2D)

Accident compensation - Workers compensation - Serious injury - Common law proceeding for damages - Application for leave to bring proceeding - Criteria for grant of leave - Requirement of employment-related compensable injury occurring between 31 August 1985 and 12 November 1997 - Judge refusing leave - Whether judge posed the wrong question for determination - Accident Compensation Act 1985 (No 10191) ss 4(1) 135A(1) 135A(2) 135A(4)(b) 135A(6) 135A(19)