Gifford v Strang Patrick Stevedoring Pty Ltd

The appeal concerned claims for damages for nervous shock brought by the children of a deceased worker against their father's employer, Strang Patrick Stevedoring Pty Ltd. The children alleged they suffered psychiatric injury as a result of witnessing the aftermath of a workplace accident that led to their father's death. The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal of New South Wales was whether the claims for nervous shock were governed by the *Workers Compensation Act 1987* (NSW) or were actionable in common law negligence.

The court was required to determine if the *Workers Compensation Act 1987* provided an exclusive remedy for the plaintiffs, thereby precluding a common law claim for damages for nervous shock. Specifically, the court considered whether the Act's provisions relating to compensation for injury to a worker extended to cover psychiatric injury suffered by the worker's dependants who witnessed the consequences of the workplace accident.

The court reasoned that the *Workers Compensation Act 1987* did not extinguish the common law right to sue for nervous shock in circumstances where the plaintiffs were not employees of the defendant and their injuries were not suffered in the course of their own employment. The court found that the Act's scope was limited to injuries sustained by workers in the course of their employment and did not encompass the distinct cause of action for nervous shock available to third parties who suffer psychiatric harm as a result of witnessing a traumatic event caused by the defendant's negligence. The court applied established principles of negligence, including the foreseeability of harm and the proximity of the relationship between the plaintiffs and the deceased worker, to determine liability.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeals, set aside the judgments of the District Court, and substituted new judgments for the plaintiffs, awarding them damages for nervous shock, economic loss, and interest. The cross-appeals were dismissed.