An Australian Federal Police officer will be compensated for a "trigger finger" injury sustained after removing a pitch invader at Canberra Stadium more than four years ago.
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The Administrative Appeals Tribunal last week overturned a Comcare review rejecting the man's compensation claim for the injury.
The man, Benjamin Kropp, was working as a federal police officer on public security management of events and emergencies for ACT Policing when he was injured during an Asian Cup soccer match in January 2015.
Mr Kropp's left thumb was injured during the incident, for which Comcare approved compensation.
But due to a splint on his left hand to help heal the original injury, in mid-2017 Mr Kropp claimed compensation for injuries to his right hand "trigger finger" sustained by overuse as a result of his dominant left hand being out of action.
While Mr Kropp originally applied for compensation for the first injury, he later applied for further compensation for injuries to his right "trigger finger" during work hours.
After the second application for compensation, Comcare reviewed Mr Kropp's case, deciding against compensation for the secondary trigger finger claim.
But Mr Kropp appealed the decision to the tribunal on the grounds the secondary injury was a direct result of overuse after his return to work in mid-2015 after six to eight weeks off.
His claim outlined pain in his right index finger from repetitive use of a computer mouse and writing with his non-dominant hand while the splint was still on his left hand.
Mr Kropp told the tribunal the injuries had meant he was unable to return to operational duties or his original job, and the pain in both hands meant he could no longer be an 'active father' to his two young sons or pursue hobbies such as mountain-biking.
Mr Kropp's case before the tribunal went to the question of whether the injury to his trigger finger was caused or exacerbated by his employment activities, such as writing and typing.
"The tribunal finds that the use of the applicant's right hand during the course of his employment during the period March to July 2015 was considerably more frequent and much different to the manner in which he used it prior to his left hand injury in late January 2015."
Despite Comcare arguing the 'trigger finger' injury could not definitely be proven as caused by the post-injury work, the tribunal rejected that argument.
The tribunal cited the diagnoses of stenosing tenosynovitis [trigger finger] on his right hand by both Mr Kropp's general practitioner and his orthopaedic surgeon, as well as the same diagnoses by two other independent experts for the tribunal.
