Cassandra specialises in insurance litigation, routinely advising on coverage, liability, and recovery prospects under various policies of insurance. She provides advice on complex claims within general liability, health and other specialty product lines.

With over 20 years of litigation and dispute resolution experience, Cassandra acts for a range of international and domestic insurers and their corporate insureds. Her core practice is defending public liability claims, with a particular focus on the health, dust and abuse sectors.

Cassandra has extensive experience dealing with personal injury damages and recovery or contribution claims from third parties, including statutory bodies and owner/occupiers, on behalf of her professional insureds under both the Queensland Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (PIPA) and the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003. She has also defended a broad range of construction, engineering, and property claims, involving the spectrum of residential properties through to multi-million-dollar developments.

Cassandra regularly defends historical abuse claims brought against various religious and educational institutions. These are dealt with either informally, via PIPA, or litigated in the Queensland Courts. She also acts in dust/silicosis personal injury and contribution claims brought against suppliers of engineered stone and asbestos products and responds to related workplace health and safety investigations.

Healthcare + Life Sciences

  • Defending various claims for damages arising out of alleged medical negligence, including claims under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 and litigation in the Queensland District and Supreme Courts.
  • Acting for a radiologist who failed to identify down syndrome in a routine ultrasound by the parents of that child for the future costs of raising the child on the basis the pregnancy would have been terminated.
  • Acting for a medical practitioner who failed to take the relevant clearances from skin cancers removed from a patient which let the cancer spread.
  • Acting for various other allied health practitioners including:
    • a pharmacist who dispensed medication incorrectly leading to the death of a patient
    • a chiropractor who negligently treated a back condition, and
    • a phlebotomist who negligently took blood samples leading to nerve damage in a patient.
  • Defending various medical professionals in complaints to AHPRA and the Health Ombudsman, including drafting responses and defending at hearings or inquiries.
  • Appearing at coronial inquests.
  • Defending an international health company against a personal injury claim arising out of sexual harassment.
  • Assisting medical practitioners respond to pre-court enquiries for information and documents.
  • Briefing of relevant medical experts to identify negligence by other medical practitioners.

General Liability

  • Acting for a variety of Australian companies in respect of catastrophic personal injury claims, including defending major banks, shopping centre owners and mining companies.
  • Acting for manufacturers of engineered stone and asbestos-based products for personal injury and recovery claims.
  • Acting for various institutions, religious orders and educational bodies in respect of historical sexual abuse claims.

Professional Indemnity

  • Acting for an international insurer in respect of a statutory authority’s claim on its statutory liability policy for its and its director’s involvement in the Queensland Floods Commission.
  • Acting for an international insurer and its fire engineer insured in respect of an AUD $20 million claim regarding negligent design and construction works at the Alice Springs Hospital.
  • Acting for a structural engineer in respect of both a Coronial Inquest and damages claims arising from the death of an individual because of the engineer’s alleged professional negligence.
  • Acting for various financial planners, accountants, and AFSLs and their insurers in a variety of litigated and unlitigated professional negligence claims including coverage advice.
  • Acting for a variety of professional insureds in relation to industry-based disciplinary proceedings.
  • Acting for an international insurer defending litigated proceedings about its declinature of insurance coverage to the directors of a collapsed financial services licensee (seeking coverage for ASIC prosecutions and an investor class action) due to non-disclosure under the Insurance Contracts Act 1984.
Areas of Expertise
  • Healthcare + Life Sciences
  • Inquiries, Investigations + Prosecutions
  • Legacy, Sensitive + Complex Claims
  • Personal Injury
  • Professional Liability

Industry Representation
  • Construction + Infrastructure
  • Financial Institutions + Services
  • Industrial + Commercial Property
  • Professions + Business Services
  • Retail + Labour Hire

Professional Affiliations
  • Australian Insurance Law Association
  • Australian Professional Indemnity Group
  • Association for Women in Insurance