Western Australian Numbered Acts Western Australian Numbered Acts (1) If an action for
damages in respect of an injury proceeds to judgment (including the acceptance
of an offer to consent to judgment) against the employer alone or against the
employer and a third party —
(a) the
amount of the damages payable to the worker under the judgment is reduced by
the amount of any compensation paid under Part 2 for the injury
(including the amount of any liability for the compensation discharged by a
settlement agreement registered under Part 2 Division 12); and
(b) any
apportionment of the damages between the employer and the third party must be
on the basis of the amount of the damages as so reduced.
(2) If an action for
damages in respect of an injury proceeds to judgment (including the acceptance
of an offer to consent to judgment) against a third party alone —
(a) the
amount of any compensation for the injury recovered by the worker must be a
first charge on the judgment; and
(b) the
third party is required to pay that amount to the employer; and
(c) the
judgment is, to the extent of the payment, discharged by the payment.
(3) If the damages
recoverable by a worker are reduced by reason of the contributory negligence
of the worker, the amount of the compensation paid under Part 2
(including the amount of any liability for the compensation discharged by a
settlement agreement registered under Part 2 Division 12) for the
injury is notionally reduced by the proportion by which the worker’s
damages were reduced, and that notionally reduced amount is the amount of the
reduction in damages under subsection (1) or of the first charge on the
judgment under subsection (2).
(4) There is no
reduction under subsection (1) in the amount of the damages payable to
the extent that the employer has recovered from the worker any amount of the
compensation concerned under section 22.