A woman has lost her bid to have a mental illness treated as part of a back injury claim with WorkCover after the Queensland Appeal Court found they are two separate issues.

Kerri Ann Sawtell was working as a magistrates court depositions clerk in 2021 when she injured her back.

In her job, she sat in front of and below the magistrate and had to turn around and twist to hand over and receive files from the bench.

Ms Sawtell claimed with WorkCover Queensland, received payments and tried to return to work. In 2022, WorkCover assessed her degree of permanent impairment at zero.

But last year, she tried to amend her claim, saying she suffered psychiatric injury because of her back issue.

The state refused to consider psychiatric injury part of the same claim, and it said Ms Sawtell had not satisfied the requirements for seeking damages for such an injury.

Ms Sawtell’s case was first heard in the District Court, which supported the state’s argument.

Now, Appeal Court judges have agreed the back issue and psychiatric condition are two different injuries.

Ms Sawtell must have a notice of assessment from WorkCover to claim for the psychiatric injury and “may not seek damages for that injury without the insurer deciding she has sustained it”.

The court says it allowed the appeal because it raised important issues around the meaning of who could claim under workers’ compensation legislation, and how the law applied to workers with more than one injury.

Costs were awarded against Ms Sawtell.

Read the judgment here.