Moynes v Heilbronn

[2015] QDC 143

DISTRICT COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

Moynes v Heilbronn & another [2015] QDC 143

PARTIES:

SIOBHAN ROSALEEN MOYNES
(Plaintiff)

And

MATTHEW HEILBRONN
(First Defendant)

And

ALLIANZ AUSTRALIA INSURANCE LIMITED (ABN 15 000 122 850)
(Second Defendant)

FILE NO/S:

1985/11

PROCEEDING:

Claim

DELIVERED ON:

5 June 2015

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

HEARING DATE:

11 – 13 May 2015

JUDGE:

Bowskill QC DCJ

ORDER:

1.        Judgment for the plaintiff against the defendants in the amount of $57,942.88.

2.        Any submissions in respect of costs, or alternatively a proposed consent order if the parties are agreed, be filed within 14 days.

CATCHWORDS:

DAMAGES – PERSONAL INJURIES – QUANTUM – Where dispute as to extent and consequences of whiplash injury suffered in motor vehicle accident – Whether subsequent symptoms, including headaches, causally related to the accident – Dispute as to various heads of damages, including past loss of earnings and future loss of earning capacity

Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld)
Civil Liability Regulation 2003 (Qld)

Allianz Australia Insurance Ltd v McCarthy [2012] QCA 312
Medlin v State Government Insurance Commission (1995) 182 CLR 1
Onassis Calogeropoulos v Vergottis [1968] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 403
Withyman v State of New South Wales [2013] NSWCA 10

COUNSEL:

R Nicholls for the Plaintiff

G O’Driscoll for the Defendants

SOLICITORS:

Quinlan Miller and Treston for the Plaintiff

McInnes Wilson Lawyers for the Defendants

1. The plaintiff was injured in a motor vehicle accident on 27 August 2007 when the first defendant’s car collided with the rear of her car, as she was waiting at an intersection to turn.  By these proceedings, she claims damages for the injury she suffered as a result. Liability is admitted.  Quantum is not.

2. In so far as the quantum of damages is concerned, it is admitted the injury suffered by the plaintiff, as a result of the collision, was a musculoligamentous strain injury involving the supporting structures of the cervical spine (that is, whiplash).

3. What is in issue is the extent and consequences of that injury, in particular the extent to which it has caused, or will cause the plaintiff to suffer economic loss.

The plaintiff’s case

1. The plaintiff pleads that the injury caused her to suffer:

   (a)pain in the occipito-cervical area of her head and neck; and

   (b)severe regular headaches about twice per month which last about 48 hours.[1]

   [1]See [9] of the Further Further Amended Statement of Claim, filed 12 May 2015 (statement of claim).

2. The plaintiff claims that, by reason of her injuries, she has and will suffer damages comprising:[2]

   (a)general damages, for pain, suffering and loss of the amenities of life in an amount of $5,000 (calculated on the basis of an Injury Scale Value of 5, for the purposes of schedule 4 of the Civil Liability Regulation 2003, in reliance upon a permanent impairment assessment by Dr Gillett of 3%);

   (b)past economic loss in the amount of $112,969.55, on the basis that, following the accident, she was unable to return to the full level of her pre-accident employment (together…