Anthony Green is taking the ACC to court. Picture / Glenn Jeffrey

Anthony Green is taking the ACC to court. Picture / Glenn Jeffrey

By LOUISA CLEAVE

A man suffering from cerebral palsy was denied compensation for a neck injury and told by ACC that a "normal person" would recover sooner.

Anthony Green, 42, said he was insulted by the treatment and is taking legal action to recover income lost during 10 weeks off work.

ACC declined a claim for weekly compensation because "it is not accepted that your incapacity from your injury would have been greater than seven days".

Mr Green claims his case manager told him that seven days was a "normal person's recovery time" for his injury.

ACC is standing by its decision and the case manager's comments.

"If the case manager was meaning that it should take no longer than a week to recover from the injury of the type experienced by Mr Green, then he is correct," a spokesman said in a statement.

Mr Green strained his neck while using a rowing machine at a gym in November last year. Someone called out his name and he turned, twisting his neck and causing the injury.

Waikato orthopaedic surgeon Ian Brown said the pain suffered by Mr Green following the injury was a result of the gym incident "rather than ... the natural progression of an underlying condition".

The underlying condition would have been aggravated by the gym injury, he said.

Mr Brown, who had previously treated Mr Green, said his patient had been symptom-free for some years before the injury.

"I would expect Mr Green to make a good recovery, but he may be predisposed to neck pain in the future related to the underlying condition."

A doctor chosen by ACC to examine Mr Green said there was "no evidence" he sustained a "new" injury when he suddenly turned his neck.

"His symptoms that he developed could plausibly be related to the underlying cervical spine degeneration, which has been described as being quite significant."

ACC said it was required by law to decide whether the condition was the result of an injury.

"In Mr Green's case, the reviewer's finding was consistent with ACC's view that the pre-existing condition was more likely the cause of the ongoing symptoms," the commission said.

Mr Green had pre-existing arthritis, and any continuing symptoms were "more likely" caused by that condition than the neck sprain, which should take no longer than a week to get over, said a spokesman.