A Canberra construction company has won an appeal against an $800,000 payout to an injured contractor.

The worker - Dominic Fischetti - hurt his back while moving concrete in a suburban driveway in 2005, and was awarded the payout in 2013.

Mr Fischetti was asked to do the job by a former boss, at the request of the director of Classic Constructions.

He was operating as an independent contractor, and not an employee of Classic Constructions.

The Court heard he went to a property to help remove concrete from a driveway, and when he got there the concrete had been cut into large blocks.

Working with another man, the victim lifted several blocks into a truck before feeling "something go" in his back.

The court accepted that he was injured during the incident, and the man claimed it had caused him severe pain.

But he continued to work for two years after the accident – with the help of strong painkillers – and even managed to achieve a higher income than before.

The appeal court noted that this was not a sustainable way to work, and that the man was eventually forced to give up.

The key point in the case was the decision over whether the company breached its duty of care, given that the man was an independent contractor.

The court ruled it did not.

“In this case, there was no duty cast on Classic Constructions to give any greater directions or to take further precautions than it did to protect Mr Fischetti from injury in the circumstances, given the nature of the task and Mr Fischetti's experience,” the judges found.

It means all the money paid out will now be paid back, pending a decision on costs.