Jaffer v FAI Insurance

The appellant, Mr Jaffer, sued the respondent, FAI Insurance, seeking damages for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident. The trial judge found that Mr Jaffer's pre-existing shoulder injury and psychiatric condition contributed to his ongoing pain and disability. The Federal Court of Australia was called upon to review the trial judge's assessment of causation, credibility, and mitigation of damages.

The central issue was whether the trial judge erred in attributing Mr Jaffer's ongoing pain and disability to his pre-existing conditions and not solely to the motor vehicle accident. A secondary issue was whether the trial judge was correct to find that Mr Jaffer's credibility was questionable due to inconsistencies in his evidence and whether this impacted the assessment of damages. Lastly, the court examined whether the trial judge was correct in concluding that Mr Jaffer did not sufficiently mitigate his damages.

The court held that the trial judge did not err in attributing the ongoing pain and disability to the pre-existing conditions. The court found that the trial judge's assessment of Mr Jaffer's credibility was based on inconsistencies in his evidence, but this did not impact the overall assessment of damages. The court found that the trial judge was correct in concluding that Mr Jaffer did not sufficiently mitigate his damages, as he did not seek medical advice or treatment for his shoulder injury for several years before the accident. The appeal was dismissed.