Coop v Johnston - [2005] QDC 79

DISTRICT COURT OF QUEENSLAND

[2005] QDC 079

REGISTRY: ROCKHAMPTON
NUMBER: D82/2004

Plaintiff: ROSEMARY LEE COOP

and

First Defendant : BENJAMIN JOSEPH JOHNSTON

and

Second Defendant: SUNCORP METWAY INSURANCE LTD

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

BEFORE HIS HONOUR JUDGE G.T. BRITTON S.C.

(DELIVERED THE 24 DAY OF MARCH 2005)

The plaintiff who was born on the 22nd of March 1973 claims damages for personal injury sustained in an accident ('the accident") which occurred on 10 December 2002.

At the time of trial on the 25th of January 2005, the plaintiff was aged 31 and she was 29 as at the date of the accident.

Liability has been admitted.

The circumstances surrounding the accident were somewhat unusual.

The plaintiff had been travelling as a passenger in a car being driven by her sister in a northerly direction on the Bruce Highway.

At approximately 7 p.m. at a place about 7 kilometres south of Gympie, the plaintiff and her sister noticed some stationary vehicles on the highway with their hazard lights operating and that there was a tree across the roadway.

As a result, the plaintiff's sister stopped her car and the plaintiff got out to render assistance. She was standing in front of a vehicle which was facing south when a station sedan driven by the first defendant collided with the three and thereafter with the vehicle in front of which the plaintiff was standing and it then struck the plaintiff, throwing her onto its windscreen and, as a result, she suffered injury.

The plaintiff was taken by ambulance to the Gympie Hospital where she was examined.

There is a report before me from the Gympie Hospital. It forms part of Exhibit 19 which also contains a copy of the records of that hospital.

According to the records of the Gympie Hospital, the plaintiff complained of pain to the right side of her face and nose and her left hip. A slight nosebleed was noted. Bruising was noted over the lateral aspect of the mid shaft of the left humerus but no fracture was seen. Facial bruising was noted on the left face and a small scratch was seen on the left side of the nose. However there were no breathing difficulties noted. On examination of the left elbow, no abnormality was detected. X-rays were performed which revealed no fracture of the hip or femur. The plaintiff was prescribed analgesia and discharged.

On the following day, the plaintiff travelled with her parents and sister to Gladstone and on the 12th of December 2002, the plaintiff consulted her General Practitioner, Dr R Mawer, but there is no report before me from Dr Mawer.

In her quantum statement (Exhibit 1), the plaintiff claims to have suffered a facial injury including a fractured nose.

The records of the Gympie Hospital do not make any mention of a fractured nose. However, Dr Evan Matthews, an ear nose and threat specialist, in a report dated 18 January 2005 (Exhibit 6) said that he had viewed X-rays of the plaintiff's…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Coop v Johnston

Details

AGLC: Coop v Johnston and Suncorp Metway Insurance Ltd [2005] QDC 79
Case: [2005] QDC 79
Decision Date: 24 March 2005

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of Coop v Johnston, the plaintiff, Rosemary Coop, sought damages for personal injury sustained in a car accident. The accident occurred when the plaintiff was standing in front of a stationary vehicle, rendering assistance to others, when a car driven by the defendant collided with the vehicle, striking the plaintiff and causing her injury. The defendants admitted liability. Coop claimed damages for the injuries she sustained, including neck pain, headaches, and various orthopaedic injuries. The court assessed Coop's injuries and awarded her damages for pain and suffering, loss of amenities of life, loss of expectation of life, disfigurement, and other injuries sustained in the accident. The court also awarded damages for past and future economic loss, loss of superannuation, future surgery, and future pharmaceuticals. The court found that the plaintiff's injuries were significant and that she was entitled to be compensated for the cost of reconstructive septoplasty surgery to correct her nasal septal deviation. The court assessed the injury scale value for Coop's injuries and determined that the most significant of her injuries was the cervical spine injury. The court awarded Coop damages in the sum of $73,512.

Orders