The journalist had sought a review of a decision by Comcare which declined liability to pay injury compensation for the contraction of the mosquito-borne disease.
The journalist had been employed by the ABC and in February 2020 was assigned to cover floods which were affecting the Tweed, Chinderah, Tumbulgum, Coraki and Woodburn localities.
The journalist claimed she was attacked by a “swarm of mosquitoes” while filming the rising flood waters in Coraki.
Two weeks later, she started to feel “tired and [experienced] achy joints,” although she initially believed she had the flu or COVID-19.
After returning from holidays, where she “felt tired most of the time”, she visited her doctor on 6 April. She underwent a blood test and was diagnosed with RRV.
She applied to Comcare for injury compensation. However, a claims manager was not convinced that the journalist's employment was the contributor to the condition.
When did she catch the virus?
The tribunal heard the worker's April serology findings showed a mix of antibodies that suggested an immune response more consistent with her catching the virus in early March in Yamba, a region renowned for RRV and not related to her covering the floods.
The use of antibody detection to diagnose RRV was described and supported by numerous medical specialists appearing before the tribunal.
However, the journalist’s GP noted that the idea of a slower immune response was not completely disproved by medical research.
The tribunal acknowledged that while the journalist may have contracted RRV in February 2020 and for whatever reason demonstrated a slowed immune response, the medical science on the timing of the antibodies was “firmly based and not subject to competing scientific conjecture”.
The AAT found that there was no record of the employee telling her doctor during any of her consultations in April 2020 that she had been afflicted with a crippling disease since February.
Furthermore, other than the employee's testimony, there was also no other proof that she was gravely unwell between the time she said her symptoms began in late February and early April, or that any symptoms she had were related to the virus.
“In reaching this conclusion, we also find that there is no medical science presented to us, other than views of the [journalist’s GP], that would support a finding of slowed immune reaction in the [journalist],” AAT Deputy President John Sosso said.
“For different reasons, both doctors gave compelling testimonies that convinced the tribunal that there was no secure medical evidence that would support such a hypothesis. Insofar as [the journalist’s GP] support for the hypothesis is based on his belief that the employee was infected by Ross River Virus in February 2020, and which belief is based entirely on her self-reporting.
“We further conclude that the medical science presented to the tribunal, in the form of the Ross River virus serology of 7 and 24 April 2020, conclusively support the theses that the [journalist] contracted Ross River Virus at some time after the first week of March 2020 and whilst she was on a long service leave.”
The tribunal rejected the appeal review.
