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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Dealing with fraudulent tax returns when determining loss of earning capacity: AAI Limited & Anor v Marinkovic [2017] QCA 54

In the matter of AAI Limited & Anor v Marinkovic the appeal court decided that even where a claimant’s previous tax returns were fraudulent or dishonest, this does not prevent the court from determining the claimant’s loss of earning capacity using other evidence at hand, for the purposes of awarding appropriate compensation. Facts Mr Marinkovic […]

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I suffered a traumatic incident in the workplace and I feel as though my employer handled it the wrong way – is this relevant to a personal injury claim?

If you have suffered a psychiatric injury as a result of a traumatic incident that happened in the workplace, what your employer did to prevent this type of incident, and what they did following the incident, will all be relevant in determining their liability for your injury. If you feel your employer handled your situation […]

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Are professional sports considered dangerous recreational activities?

An exception to liability in negligence exists where a person sustains a personal injury from an obvious risk of engaging in dangerous recreational activities. The New South Wales Supreme Court recently handed down an interesting decision in Goode v Angland[1] which considered this exception and in particular whether professional horseracing was a dangerous recreational activity. […]

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