Australia: Professional Negligence

The New South Wales Court of Appeal recently examined a medical negligence case involving total hip replacement surgery, where the plaintiff alleged inadequate risk warnings...

Personal injury law provides support and compensation for people who have been injured due to someone else’s negligence, wrongdoing, or a workplace or institutional failure.

The New South Wales Court of Appeal has overturned a decision restraining a law firm from acting for a client, establishing that general observations of senior solicitors by junior lawyers do not constitute confidential information. The ruling clarifies when courts can invoke the extraordinary jurisdiction to prevent lawyers from representing clients and emphasizes that parties must be formally joined to proceedings that directly affect their rights.

In this recent decision, the Court of Appeal addressed the concept of 'obvious risk' under the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) and its implications for liability and insured parties.

The Court of Appeal confirmed that in complex medical negligence cases, courts prioritise overall clinical evidence - such as contemporaneous records, patient functionality & consistent expert opinion - over isolated imaging.

The case provides clear confirmation of the principles applied in determining whether a duty of care exists and establishing negligence.

Advocate's immunity is an immunity from suit, enabling legal practitioners to defend negligence claims arising from work performed in the conduct of litigation.

Discusses case where mechanic brought an action in negligence against the landscaping company.

Discusses recent case where the UK Financial Ombudsman had to determine whether the financial adviser was responsible for the loss caused by a scam.