A decision by ACC to stop paying compensation to 170 people has been labelled nonsense by a Dunedin-based lobby group.
On Thursday, ACC chief executive Dr Jan White revealed the corporation "due to an internal oversight" continued to pay weekly compensation despite a 2006 court case clarifying the position.
"We're very sorry for this error," Dr White said.
The 2006 decision ruled an employed person certified unfit to work because of an earlier injury was not entitled to weekly compensation if they were not working at the time they received the injury.
One hundred and seventy people were affected by the changes The 170 people affected would lose their weekly compensation payments, which cost $4 million in 2008-09, she said.
"We will continue to pay them weekly compensation until the end of October, and none of the people affected will have to repay any of the weekly compensation that they have received."
Acclaim Otago president Denise Powell could not say how many, or indeed if any, Otago clients were affected by the change.
Seeking legal opinion on the decision, Mrs Powell was advised ACC should have applied to the High Court on a case-stated basis to examine, as a question of law, whether the District Court was correct in its interpretation.
"It's nonsense in our opinion for ACC to say this is not about the money. If it wasn't, ACC would have taken a case . . . to the High Court - and still can," Mrs Powell said.
