Case Studies

Beth

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Beth, a young fitness trainer was scalded by hot soup in a Vietnamese restaurant in a trendy Sydney suburb, which had been dropped in her lap by a waitress.

A claim was made against the owner of the restaurant and the claim was successfully settled.

Robert

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We acted for a 22 year old man who was injured at school when he was 13. He suffered a brain incident when he was hit in the head by a golf ball during the lunch break. A fellow pupil threw the golf ball. Just before the golf ball was thrown, a supervising teacher had seen the group of boys with the golf ball and asked them to put it away, rather than confiscating it.

Our client brought a claim for compensation against the boy who threw the ball, under the boy’s home and contents insurance policy and against the Department of Education in relation to the conduct of the supervising teacher. Both defendants denied liability. There was a risk that the Court would not find negligence.

In spite of the brain incident our client managed to complete his schooling and to complete a Bachelor of Commerce and is now doing a Master of Finance. The claim was successfully settled out of court

Carlos

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We acted for a 14-year-old schoolboy for the 3rd degree burns he received to more than 75% of his body in a school incident. Our client and other students were at the school playing field for afterschool football training when the incident occurred. A teacher from the school was the coach. The teacher marked the field lines by pouring accelerant on the grass from a tin in which he had drilled a small hole in the lid and then lighting the grass with a match. Although there were a number of witnesses – it was difficult to determine exactly how our client got injured as witnesses provided different accounts of the incident. Some witnesses stated our client picked up the tin of accelerant and was pouring accelerant on the flames when the tin exploded. Others, including our client, said the explosion happened when our client kicked the tin away from approaching flames. We interviewed each of the witnesses.

The school accepted the actions of its teacher were negligent but alleged our client was also partially responsibility for the incident. We engaged an adolescent psychologist to give an opinion on the unpredictability of teenage behaviour as support that our client did not contribute to his own injuries.

A large out of court settlement was reached over 2 days of mediation. Prior to the settlement we obtained via the Court interim payments to allow our client to purchase a home suitable to his needs while waiting for his case to be finalised. Claims were also successfully brought for the nervous shock suffered by each of our client’s immediate family members.

Patrick

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We acted for a crewmember of an ocean trawler who sustained a traumatic brain incident when he fell down an open hatch on a vessel. Our client struck his head on the edge of the hatch and fell some three to four metres down to the galley, sustaining severe traumatic brain incident. The difficulty with this case was that there were no witnesses to the incident. Despite this, this case was successfully settled out of Court.

Dean

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We acted for a self-employed truck driver whose truck rolled over at tip causing him to suffer multiple severe physical injuries. Expert evidence alleged that the roll-over occurred either due to subsidence in the area he was tipping or that the area was sloped. It was alleged that the tip owed our client a duty of care and ought to have roped off any unsafe area. Liability was hard fought by the tip but the matter resolved successfully out of court.

Helen

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We represented Helen, a pensioner aged 68, who was viciously attacked by a large dog. Helen sustained a displaced spiral fracture of her left femur, which required surgery.

Helen’s leg injury was very debilitating and restricted her mobility. Helen, who lived on her own, had to rely on family and friends to assist her with basic daily activities, such as household duties and personal care tasks.

Our investigations revealed that the owner’s of the dog had a policy of insurance that provided coverage for Helen’s accident. After identifying the public liability insurer, Helen, through us, managed to successfully pursue a claim for compensation.

Helen’s claim settled out of Court for an amount that compensated her for her pain and suffering, as well as her need for care and treatment.

David

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We acted for an invited entrant onto a block of residential units who was injured when a brick vent dislodged and fell from the exterior of the building onto his head. The building was in very poor condition, even to the casual observer. Proceedings were brought against the owners of the strata plan and were successfully settled at out of court.

Helen

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We acted for a lady who was injured when she tripped in the rain on steps leading out of a popular hotel. The hotel had placed non-slip grip step on parts of the step but the grip was coming away in a number of places. The stairs, without the strips, were extremely slippery and unsafe. Our client suffered injuries that prevented her from running her B&B business and enjoying activities she loved prior to her injury, such as skiing. Liability was denied by the hotel but the case resolved successfully at the hearing.