Illawarra Area Health Service v Cameron

The dispute in *Illawarra Area Health Service v Cameron* concerned an appeal to the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales regarding damages awarded to the respondent. The appellant, Illawarra Area Health Service, challenged the primary judge's assessment of damages, particularly concerning the respondent's future loss of earning capacity and an allowance for future domestic assistance.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the primary judge erred in their assessment of future loss of earning capacity, specifically by failing to adequately consider the vocational assessment report. Additionally, the court had to determine whether the discretionary allowance made for future domestic assistance fell outside the proper range of discretion, thereby warranting appellate intervention. The court also considered whether video evidence corroborated the respondent's evidence.

Santow JA and Campbell AJA found that the primary judge had failed to have sufficient regard to the vocational assessment report when determining the respondent's future loss of earning capacity. They reasoned that this failure constituted an error in the assessment of damages. Furthermore, the court concluded that the allowance for future domestic assistance was indeed outside the appropriate range of discretion. Consequently, the appeal was upheld in part. The appellant was ordered to pay the respondent's costs of the appeal.