What happens if I intentionally injure someone in order to protect myself and/or my family?

Case: Corowa v Winner & Anor [2019] QDC 135 Background On the 14 September 2009 Brenton Winner deliberately drove his vehicle onto the footpath and over the right foot of Isaiah Corowa in order to protect his fiancée and grandmother from being physically and verbally attacked. Corowa was taken to hospital and suffered four separate […]

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Sexual abuse matters, removal of time limitation and the need for consistent evidence: Case Study – Connellan v Murphy [2017]

Where childhood sexual abuse cases can be permanently stayed Personal injury claims that arise from early childhood events are always difficult to manage from an evidentiary perspective. There is considerable research into the way that memory functions, particularly childhood memory, which brings the quality of evidence into question. For this reason, many Australian jurisdictions have […]

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Why clear instruction and advice is integral to avoid workplace negligence claims

McCormack v Ethnic Community Care Links Inc [2017] QDC 102 is a Queensland District court decision involving the award of compensation following an injury occurring in the workplace. The plaintiff was successful in establishing that her injuries were caused by the negligence of the defendant organization. The incident The plaintiff, a social worker employed by […]

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Crime doesn’t pay! – What happens if you are complicit in a joint illegal enterprise?

  The recent Supreme Court decision of Capitan v Wosomo & Anor [2017] QSC 86 highlights important principals relating to assessing liability in relation to dangerous recreational activities involving criminal undertakings. Facts The plaintiff and the defendant were both involved in a car crash that permanently debilitated the defendant whom was a front seat passenger […]

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