Christmas delivery for The Smith Family

Christmas came early to Wotton Kearney’s offices with staff donating 58 gifts of toys and books to The Smith Family Christmas Toy and Book Appeal. A number of staff also purchased gifts for the Appeal online. Sadly, thousands of Australian children go without presents at Christmas simply because their families can’t afford to buy them. […]

Wotton Kearney head to Cambodia!

After months of planning and fundraising, which has seem them raise over $21,000, W+K’s team of housebuilders (Nick Lux, Andrew Price, Heidi Nash-Smith, Aisha Lala, Angela Winkler and Karen Pritchard) is heading to Cambodia this weekend to build homes for 13 impoverished Cambodian families, in partnership with the Tabitha Foundation. This will no doubt be […]

Cambodia Fundraising Dinner

Having recovered from their exertions in the SMH Half Marathon just a few weeks ago, on 31 May W+K were back on the fundraising trail for the firm’s Cambodian house building project. Cambodian Footprint team members COO Andrew Price, Senior Associate Heidi Nash-Smith and HR Advisor Karen Pritchard hosted a fundraising dinner at Manta Restaurant […]

Community Footprint: Walk for Justice

On Tuesday 15 May 2012, a team from Wotton Kearney’s Sydney office participated in The Public Interest Law Clearing House (PILCH) Walk for Justice as part of its Community Footprint Corporate Social Responsibility programme. The Walk for Justice aims to increase public awareness of the unmet legal needs in our community and raise funds to […]

W+K triumph in the triathlon!

It was an early start for W+K’s triathletes as they took to the Harbour/cycleway/running track for the firm’s inaugural entry in the Sydney Nissan Corporate Triathlon on Sunday 29 April. Despite some late retirements due to injury it proved to be a successful and enjoyable event for all involved, with everyone, even those who were […]

Wotton Kearney turns 10!

I am delighted to announce that on 4 February 2012 Wotton Kearney celebrated its 10th anniversary! Having started in Sydney in 2002 with a team of just six, the firm now employs more than 70 specialist insurance lawyers, including 18 in our Melbourne office which opened in 2007. This growth was highlighted in 2011 when […]

Loss of Chance and Causation

Losing chances: the High Court’s decision in Tabet v Gett [2010] HCA 12 and the renewed focus on causation Introduction The High Court’s decision in Tabet v Gett [2010] HCA 12 was handed down on 21 April 2010. This case creates a fundamental change in the way many injured patients will be able to sue […]

Policy terms: Where does the onus of proof lie?

The High Court last week confirmed that insurers bear the onus of proving the limit of indemnity under their policies [1]. Background Mr Stewart (Stewart) alleged that he was exposed to asbestos fibre causing the deadly lung condition, mesothelioma, during the course of his employment with Pilkington Bros (Australia) Limited (Pilkington) from 1964 to about […]

Developments in labour hire liabilities

In Victoria workers who suffer a Serious Injury have a right to seek common law damages against the worker’s employer and, where applicable, against other negligent third parties. Such actions have been frequent in labour hire situations, e.g. where a temporary employee is placed with a host employer. Insurers will be aware of the frequency […]