Wellington, March 23 NZPA - ACC's new policy to take a stricter look at claims for surgery sets a dangerous precedent for anyone aged over 40, as they will have natural wear and tear on their body, a Wellington neurosurgeon says.

Martin Hunn, who works at Wellington and Wakefield Hospitals, has had three patients turned down for spinal surgery this year, ACC ruling their injuries were caused by pre-existing conditions rather than accidents, The Dominion Post reported.

Brandon Dixon had his claim rejected, despite ACC paying for physiotherapy for the injury before he applied for surgery.

Mr Dixon, 39, suffered a prolapsed disc in his neck during a collapsed scrum in a club rugby game last year.

His claim was rejected because medical scans also showed there was degenerative damage near the injury -- despite Mr Hunn's diagnosis the degeneration was normal and not the cause of the injury.

Mr Hunn said ACC's decision set a dangerous precedent.

"Virtually everybody who's 40 or over is going to have some wear and tear in their neck."

Since October ACC has assessed surgery claims more strictly, after its costs had become unsustainable. It turned down more than 8500 claims for surgery in the last financial year, compared to about 5000 the year before.

ACC acting director of operations Sue North said it was still approving more than 80 percent of surgery claims.

A spokesman for ACC Minister Nick Smith said the minister could not comment on cases under review.