scholarly journals Compensation for Personal Injury in New Zealand - Its Rise and Fall

1997 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 384
Author(s):  
W R Atkin
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Personal Injury ◽  
Compensation Scheme ◽  
Future Change ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Valuable Addition ◽  
Accident Compensation ◽  
Compensation Mechanisms ◽  
History Of

This article is a book review of Ian Campbell Compensation for Personal Injury in New Zealand: Its Rise and Fall (Auckland University Press, Auckland, 1996) 286 + x pages, $39.95. Atkin notes that New Zealand's accident compensation scheme was initially developed in a largely non-partisan way and was greeted positively. However, he notes that accident compensation has become a political football in recent years. Atkin thus recognises the timeliness of this book which provides the scheme's history and competing arguments for future change. Atkin concludes that the book's reference to the scheme's rise and fall is too pessimistic a picture, as the scheme continues to work well for many New Zealanders. However, Atkin notes that the book adds legitimate weight to the idea that accident compensation is under attack. Thus, with its grounding in the history of compensation mechanisms, the book is said to represent a valuable addition to the debate about future directions. 

scholarly journals Community insurance versus compulsory insurance: competing paradigms of no-fault accident compensation in New Zealand

Legal Studies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 499-516
Author(s):  
Simon Connell
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Specific Form ◽  
Accident Insurance ◽  
Personal Injury ◽  
Compensation Scheme ◽  
The Core ◽  
Accident Compensation ◽  
Compulsory Insurance ◽  
History Of

AbstractThis paper presents a history of New Zealand's accident compensation scheme as a struggle between two competing normative paradigms that justify the core reform of the replacement of civil actions for victims of personal injury with a comprehensive no-fault scheme. Under ‘community insurance’, the scheme represents the community taking moral and practical responsibility for members who are injured in accidents, while for ‘compulsory insurance’ the scheme is a specific form of compulsory accident insurance. Understanding the history of the scheme in this way helps explain both the persistence of the scheme and important changes made to it by different governments.

scholarly journals Case Comment – Cumberland v Accident Compensation Corporation

2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 525
Author(s):  
Anthea Williams
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Medical Treatment ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Personal Injury ◽  
Compensation Scheme ◽  
Accident Compensation ◽  
Physical Effects ◽  
Wrongful Birth ◽  
Court Of Appeal ◽  
Lost Opportunity

In Cumberland v Accident Compensation Corporation, the Court of Appeal held that where a mother is denied the information that her foetus is disabled, and thus loses the opportunity to terminate the pregnancy, the "continuing pregnancy" can be a personal injury covered by the Accident Compensation scheme. This article examines the judgment and argues the Court of Appeal has extended New Zealand case law on "wrongful births" without explicitly acknowledging this. The author suggests that, by focussing purely on the physical effects on the mother and her lost opportunity to determine the medical treatment given to her, the Court has avoided the value laden approach that has plagued other wrongful birth cases.

scholarly journals Should New Zealand Shirk Its Obligations? A Critical Perspective on Private Law Scholarship

2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 429
Author(s):  
Bevan Marten ◽  
Geoff McLay
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Law Reform ◽  
Coherent System ◽  
Private Law ◽  
Compensation Scheme ◽  
Critical Perspective ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Party Autonomy ◽  
Accident Compensation

This article concerns the role of the private law scholar in New Zealand, and how such scholars use their skills to improve the law. It argues that while an obligations scholar's preference may be to engage with the courts and other academics in their scholarly activities, a focus on statutory reform better suits New Zealand conditions. Scholars should share their talents with policy makers, law reform bodies and legislators, helping to explain the importance of a coherent system of private law, and how this may be achieved. The authors then go a step further by suggesting that, in the New Zealand context, the preferable approach to reform may be one involving policy-based solutions exemplified by the accident compensation scheme, as opposed to approaches based on traditional private law principles such as party autonomy.

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