Jeanette Jana BHT Ronald Jana v Western Sydney Local Health District trading as Westmead Hospital

The plaintiff, Jeanette Jana BHT Ronald Jana, sued the Western Sydney Local Health District trading as Westmead Hospital and another defendant for injuries arising out of medical negligence. The plaintiff accepted a Calderbank offer made by the defendants and applied for approval of the settlement. The main issue for the court was whether three statutory deductions must be made from the settlement amount and whether a term proposed by the defendants, which withheld interest payable until certificates were received from Commonwealth entities, should be included in the consent judgment.

The court considered whether the proposed term was a standard term in consent judgments, and whether implying such a term would have the effect of varying the statutory provision in section 101 of the Civil Procedure Act. The court found that the term did not fall within any of the categories of implied terms identified in relevant case law and that there was no basis for the implication of such a term. The court also noted that implying such a term would have the effect of varying the statutory provision, which would be impermissible.

As a result, the court held that the proposed term should not be included in the consent judgment. The court approved the settlement, subject to the three statutory deductions being made from the settlement amount. No further orders were made by the court.