The PNG Case

One of Johns favourite cases was acting for a PNG man, who John met at the Prince of Wales Hospital, whilst watching a ruby-league match on TV. His name was Nelson and he worked as a labourer on an International ship transporting things from various different countries. John was visiting his own mother in law in hospital and met him in the common room. John saw Nelson with his arm in a sling watching the football and he asked him about his injury. He told John his story of how he suffered his work injury  on the ship. He was poorly treated by the Captain of the ship who was his Employer. Nelson was stuck in the hospital for 3 months undergoing three major operations as a result of his accident on the ship. He was in a foreign country all alone far from his family and homeland with a serious permanent injury. John took instructions whilst Nelson was in the hospital and prepared his claim against the employer. Nelson left for his small village in PNG with a permanent injury that made him unfit for his job on the ship. Nelsons employer assumed that they would never hear from Nelson again. John started proceedings in  claiming negligence and damages against Nelsons employer. After a lengthy fight we ended up with a great settlement that secured Nelsons and his young families future. As a tribute to John, Nelson bought a fishing boat which he named ‘Eauwedo’ meaning ‘Thank You’ in English. 

The Brain Damaged Removalist Case

John acted for a Columbian removalist named ‘Alfredo’ who had done some removal work for him in the past. Alfredo had suffered permanent brain damage after falling down from a first-floor veranda doing a removalist job in Paddington. The brain damage meant he required 24-hour care and when his wife and carer rang John for assistance, they were both living in their four-wheel drive. Alfredo’s accident meant he could never work again and had no workers compensation and income protection insurance.  They could not pay the rent and were in a desperate and terrible situation. Alfredo and his wife had gone to other lawyers who had knocked back the case because they were of the view that proving fault was impossible.  John took the case on because he wanted to help them. The key to the case was proving fault. He obtained an Expert Liability Report supporting a negligence case against the landlord and real-estate agent. Liability was strongly in issue and on balance Alfredo would have lost despite the fact that Damages were huge. The Insurers believed that we would bail out because of the faut issue John fought for Alfredo and went all the way to the Supreme Court. One week before the scheduled hearing in the Supreme Court, the insurers came up with a compromised offer.which we accepted. The settlement meant that Alfredo and his wife could buy a one-bedroom unit, keep their full pension and live a better life than what they had. They were both very happy with the result and it made a significant difference in their lives.

The Medical Negligence Case

John acted for a 32-year-old client named ‘Daniel.’ Daniel had gone to the hospital complaining of chest pain on exertion. The hospital told him it was ‘nothing’ and to take pain killers and rest if it continued. Daniel was sent away and 2 days later he suffered a heart attack. Daniel survived, however, the lack of oxygen to the brain meant he suffered massive brain damage and required 24-hour care. Daniels wife had 3 small children and could not take care of him.  Daniel ended up in an old persons nursing home, full of dementia patients. This is where John first saw Daniel and he felt for him being stuck with old dementia patients. John took the case on and filed proceedings against the Hospital in the Supreme Court. The liability and damages evidence that were presented on Daniels behalf saw the case settle one week before the scheduled hearing date. At the time the settlement amount was one of the largest adult male settlements in Australia. This enabled Johns client to leave the nursing home and allowed him to live a normal life in the community with full time carers and it also secured the future of his wife and kids.  The settlement made a significant impact on Daniels quality of life.