When providing advice to a client in respect of a potential personal injury claim, the first exercise I undertake is to consider the likely prospects of establishing that the injured person will succeed in their claim by proving that their injury has occurred as a result of negligent actions on behalf of a third party. … Read more What is liability?

In Queensland each year, on average, 90,000 – 95,000 new statutory claims are lodged with WorkCover Queensland. The law of averages would indicate that a worker in Queensland is likely to face the situation of injury at least once in their working life. That being that case, let’s have a look at what is involved. … Read more So you’ve been injured at work. What happens next?

I have been reminded recently of the crucial role that an experienced personal injury lawyer can play in facilitating the smooth recovery and delivery of rehabilitation to a person seriously injured in an accident. It is, however, crucial that there be early intervention from a lawyer on an injured person’s behalf to make sure that … Read more Suffered serious injuries in an accident? Early intervention from your lawyer can make a huge difference to your prospects of recovery.

Over my years of practice, a reasonably common conversation to have with clients relating to the assessment of their claim is that the advice they are being given is different to that which a friend or family member is telling them in their own private conversations. Commonly, it is something along the lines of “but … Read more Why Joe at the Pub is probably wrong!

In the case of Castle v Perisher Blue Pty Ltd[1], Justice Cavanagh of the New South Wales Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether the statutory defence under section 5(L) of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) concerning ‘dangerous recreational activity’ applied to snow skiing. The facts giving rise to the case involved a collision … Read more Yep, skiing is a dangerous recreational activity!

Recent decisions of the Supreme Court of Queensland have highlighted systemic failings on the part of Queensland’s Statutory Bodies, and particularly Queensland Health bodies, in respect of the processes they have adopted in suspending employees whilst they conduct workplace incident investigations. The Supreme Court of Queensland in Walters v Hanson & Ors [2020] QSC216, examined … Read more An unreasonable management action?

I am often asked by client’s what I consider the single most important element of their claim to be.  My answer is always “your credibility is key”. What I mean by that is that no matter how good a job a lawyer does in running down all the available evidence, obtaining helpful medical reports and … Read more Credibility is key

Back in March 2020 following the nationwide lockdowns that saw businesses close across the nation at the request of the Government, I investigated the potential for coverage for business losses under common business interruption insurance policies in the marketplace. Please find below a link to the article that I wrote in March 2020 concerning the … Read more Business Interruption Insurance and COVID-19 – an update

The Motor Accident Insurance Commission (QLD) recently released a ‘CTP Scheme Insights Q1 (Jan-Mar) 2020’ report detailing important performance statistics of the CTP Scheme in the first quarter of 2020. The interesting takeaways are as follows: When measured as a percentage of average weekly earnings, Queensland has the most affordable CTP premiums in Australia; The … Read more CTP Scheme (Motor Vehicle Accidents) – a current snap shot

One of the most common queries I get asked by injured people in their initial consultations with me is whether they are at risk of getting sacked by their employer if they make a claim for their injuries. This is particularly so with WorkCover claimants where they have been injured in the course of their … Read more Can I be sacked for making a claim?