Hassan v Calvary Private Hospital Health Care Canberra Ltd t/a Calvary John James Hospital

Calvary Private Hospital Health Care Canberra Ltd t/a Calvary John James Hospital was sued by Mr. Hassan for damages relating to alleged medical negligence during his admission to the hospital in 2014. The matter was brought before the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory. The hospital applied to strike out Mr. Hassan's claim on the basis that it was statute-barred due to the expiry of the statutory limitation period, and subsequently applied for summary judgment. Mr. Hassan opposed both applications.

The court considered whether the limitation period prevented the claim from being pursued. The court also examined whether the threshold for summary judgment was met, which requires the defendant to establish that there is no real prospect that the plaintiff could succeed at trial. The court held that the claim was not statute-barred and that the hospital had not demonstrated that there was no real prospect of the plaintiff succeeding at trial. The court found that there were questions of fact to be determined, and that the hospital had not met the threshold for summary judgment.

As a result, the court dismissed both the application to strike out and the application for summary judgment. The matter proceeded to trial, with the limitation period issue to be determined at that time. The court did not make any final orders in this decision, as the matter was still pending at the time of the report.