By: Angela Winkler and Chad Farah De Martin & Gasparini Pty Ltd v Bartlett [2025] NSWCA 56 At a glance The Court of Appeal upheld that DMG was vicariously liable for the unidentified worker’s negligence, based on circumstantial evidence showing the worker was likely DMG’s direct employee. The Court overturned the trial judge’s finding and […]
By: Greg Carruthers-Smith, Gemma Burke and Maria Canon RC v The Salvation Army (Western Australia) Property Trust [2024] HCA 43 At a glance The High Court of Australia has allowed an appeal to set aside a judgment staying civil proceedings relating to alleged sexual abuse occurring in 1959/60. The death of the perpetrator and the […]
By: Jonathan Maher and Ben Kelly At a glance The Claimant issued a judicial review application to challenge the Medical Panel’s decision that his knee impairment stemmed from pre-existing conditions, not a fall. The Victorian Supreme Court upheld the Panel’s decision, rejecting the Claimant’s argument that section 28LL(3) of the Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic) contains […]
By: Meisha Tjiong, William Yeo and Hannah Turl At a glance On 4 and 17 October 2024, the District Court of NSW delivered its decisions in Stanberg v State of New South Wales [2024] NSW DC 462, and entered a judgment for the State with the Plaintiff to pay the State’s party/party costs and partial […]
By: Jonathan Maher and Tushka Sridharan At a glance The Court of Appeal reduced the jury’s $1.1 million award of pain and suffering damages to $550,000, deeming the original amount “manifestly excessive”, aligning it with judge-alone awards in similar cases. The jury’s $1.3 million exemplary damages award was set aside entirely, with the Court of […]
By: Patrick Thompson and James Clohesy At a glance The UK Supreme Court has delivered another judgment dealing with when a public authority can owe a private duty of care to members of the public. The decision reaffirms what is becoming a bright line distinction in the UK between cases where the public authority, by […]
By: Patrick Thompson At a glance In Lynn Waller v Romy Barrett [2024] VCC 962, the plaintiff successfully argued that the defendant breached her confidences and invaded her privacy by disclosing private details from counselling sessions to media outlets, leading to damages awarded. Judge Tran recognised a distinct cause of action for invasion of privacy […]
By: Jonathan Maher and Arriane Garcia Alan Bernard McKenzie v Charles Stewart & Company Proprietary Limited (trading as Colac Rental Management) [2024] VCC 429 At a glance In the decision of Alan Bernard McKenzie v Charles Stewart & Company Proprietary Limited (trading as Colac Rental Management) [2024] VCC 429, the County Court of Victoria has […]
By: Andrew Seiter and Hope Saloustros At a glance On 1 May 2023, Judge Fraatz of the Victorian County Court handed down judgment in the Rosata matter, holding that a Medical Panel can only make one determination in the same proceeding to determine whether a claimant’s injuries meet the threshold to claim non-economic loss damages in […]
We’re delighted to share W+K’s State of the nation 2023-24 – our guide to different procedural rules, limitation periods, assessment of damages and recent cases for personal injury claims in each Australian state. Assessments of damages in personal injury claims and the apportionment of damages in property damage/economic loss claims in Australia are governed by […]
