"H" v State of New South Wales

The plaintiff, "H", sued the State of New South Wales for negligence, alleging that school authorities failed to provide adequate care after he received a death threat from a fellow student and was subsequently assaulted and stabbed at school. The High Court of Australia was tasked with determining the school's liability for the plaintiff's injuries and the appropriate compensation.

The court needed to decide whether the school authorities owed a duty of care to the plaintiff and whether their failure to prevent the attack breached that duty. It also had to assess the extent of the plaintiff's injuries, including chronic post-traumatic stress disorder and a phobia relating to Asian people, which led to the plaintiff moving abroad. Additionally, the court had to evaluate the plaintiff's domicile for damages assessment and the admissibility of school records in assessing his credibility. The court also considered the plaintiff's duty to mitigate his losses and the non-extraterritorial application of New South Wales law in Dubai.

The court found that the school authorities owed a duty of care to the plaintiff and breached this duty by failing to protect him from the attack. The court rejected the school's argument that the plaintiff had not mitigated his losses, finding no relevant failure to mitigate. It also found that the expert evidence provided by the clinical psychologist was flawed and did not meet the requirements of the expert witness code of conduct. The court assessed multiple heads of damage, including the plaintiff's PTSD, phobia, and the impact on his life, leading to the plaintiff moving to Dubai. It held that New South Wales law did not have extra-territorial effect in Dubai, and therefore, the plaintiff's domicile for damages assessment remained in Australia.

The court ordered that the defendant pay the plaintiff $627,468 in damages and cover the plaintiff's costs.