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Get your stairway examined – Plaintiff awarded $1.6M for “stumble, loss of balance and fall” upon a stairway
March 14, 2017
Covey v State of Queensland [2017] QSC 23 Key Points An employer’s duty is very high and can include engaging experts to inspect things such as stairways for latent defects. Even in the case of non-catastrophic injuries, where a young worker has a reasonable argument they have lost a career due to an injury, $1M+ […]
“Arrogant and argumentative but not a pathological liar” – bikie awarded $164K in CTP claim
March 14, 2017
Mashaghati v Anderson & Allianz [2016] QDC 245 Key Point Although under appeal, Mashaghati is a reminder that even if there are strong reasons to impugn a Plaintiff’s credibility, unless that evidence is directly on point it is open to a trial judge to accept a Plaintiff’s evidence. Background On 1 May 2011 the plaintiff […]
Architects (and their clients) should take care as to the terms on which sub consultants are retained
March 14, 2017
Surfstone Pty Ltd & Anor v Morgan Consulting Engineers Pty Ltd [2016] QCA 213 Key Points A structural engineering firm incorporated terms limiting liability in its retainer with the architect by reference to usual Associate of Consulting Engineers of Australia (ACEA) terms by reference to them in the engineer’s proposal. Therefore the owners of the […]
Mandatory Reporting – Cyber Breach
March 14, 2017
Introduction At some stage, you will be the victim of a data breach. The consequence of a data breach could be that the personal information of your clients is exploited. According to data collected by Gemalto in its Breach Level Index (BLI), there were 974 data breaches worldwide in the first half of 2016, up […]
‘Lean, Mean, Fighting Machine’ – Lean Law: The next big legal revolution?
March 14, 2017
In the third and final part of our Innovation series, HBA Legal looks ahead in the legal industry and building a culture of Lean law within law firms. It is commonly agreed that changes need to be seen within the practice of law. So why are law firms only hearing about Lean law now? If […]
‘Waste not, want not’ – the modern lawyer: a garbage collector?
March 14, 2017
In the second part of HBA Legal’s three-part series, we take a look at the management philosophy Lean Six Sigma and how it can operate in law firms. Henry Ford believed that “it is not the employer who pays the wages. He only handles the money. It is the product that pays the wages”[1]. Ford, […]
Innovation, innovation everywhere, so let’s all have a drink
March 14, 2017
Greek philosopher Plato once said that “out of necessity comes invention” and out of invention derives innovation. In the first of a three-part series, HBA Legal looks at the current legal landscape and the recent demand for law firms to innovate in order to stay competitive. The practice of law has remained relatively untouched over […]
No compo for ‘white knight’ trucker – AAT dismisses worker’s claim for injuries suffered in service station brawl
November 29, 2016
O’Loughlin v Linfox Australia Pty Ltd [2016] AATA 606 Key Points The employer initially accepted this claim for injuries suffered as a consequence of the worker’s decision to become involved in a “domestic dispute” that occurred at a service station where he was delivering fuel. Following the High Court’s PVYW decision (the motel sex case) […]
No knowledge, no liability for employer in sexual assault case
October 12, 2016
Polichronis v Teys Australia Food Solutions Pty Ltd [2016] QDC 225 Key Points The Plaintiff was sexually assaulted by a co-worker. To succeed in a damages claim, the Plaintiff must show the employer was on notice that the assailant co-worker had “significant history of misbehaviour”. A thorough post-incident investigation is crucial to protect an employer […]
Claimant’s excuse for delay “stretches credulity” – Defendant succeeds in limitation defence
October 12, 2016
Morgan v JBS Australia PTY Limited [2016] QDC 226 Key Points To bring a claim for personal injury outside the usual three year limitation period in Queensland, the main thing a Plaintiff needs to show is that a material fact of a decisive character occurred within the previous 12 months. Usually, the fact that a […]