Personal Injury - Wotton Kearney

Thought Leadership

State of the Nation 2025 Report: A guide to personal injury claims in Australia

Australia’s personal injury legislation creates a distinct legal landscape in each state – with every jurisdiction’s unique framework shaping your reserves, settlement approaches, and ultimate claims outcomes. That’s why we’ve released our State of the Nation Report for 2025, a resource that breaks down the procedural rules, limitation periods, assessment of damages and recent cases […]

By : Joshua Weiler Jul 3, 2025 Comments Off

Thought Leadership

Future Proof ‘25: Insurance and risk insights across Asia-Pacific

The future of insurance and risk in Asia-Pacific is here, and rapidly evolving. Are you ready? In a world marked by rapid technological advancement, innovation, evolving regulatory demands and increasing complexity across multiple risk sectors, Future Proof ’25 examines the diverse forces reshaping insurance and business landscapes. This report highlights emerging trends and critical challenges […]

By : Joshua Weiler May 22, 2025 Comments Off

Articles

Whodunnit: Labour hire and vicarious liability

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 : Joshua Weiler Apr 9, 2025 Comments Off

Articles, Case Alerts

Defendant bears a heavy burden in proving unfair trial for successful stay applications

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 : Joshua Weiler Dec 3, 2024 Comments Off

Articles, Case Alerts

One test or two? Supreme Court considers how a Medical Panel should disregard impairments from unrelated injuries or causes

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 : Joshua Weiler Nov 25, 2024 Comments Off

Articles

Sand pit or legal pit? Court confirms a school’s duty of care when supervising sports

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 : Joshua Weiler Nov 11, 2024 Comments Off

Articles

Damages update: Victorian Court of Appeal reassesses damages in historical abuse case

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 : Joshua Weiler Nov 11, 2024 Comments Off

Articles

To care, or not to care: when does a public agency owe a private duty?

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 : Joshua Weiler Nov 1, 2024 Comments Off

Articles, Case Alerts

Tort of privacy recognised in Australia

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 : Joshua Weiler Oct 30, 2024 Comments Off

Case Alerts

Slipped or tripped? Plaintiffs must prove what actually happened

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 : Anja Vogel May 1, 2024 Comments Off

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