Najjar v Government Insurance Office of New South Wales

In *Najjar v Government Insurance Office of New South Wales* [1992] NSWCA 170, the New South Wales Court of Appeal considered an appeal concerning the assessment of damages for a motor vehicle accident. The appellant, Mr Najjar, had suffered injuries in a motor vehicle accident and sought to recover damages from the respondent, the Government Insurance Office of New South Wales, which was the compulsory third-party insurer. The primary dispute revolved around the extent to which Mr Najjar's pre-existing conditions should be taken into account when assessing the damages awarded for his injuries.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the trial judge had erred in law by failing to adequately consider the impact of Mr Najjar's pre-existing degenerative spinal condition when assessing the damages for his injuries sustained in the accident. Specifically, the court had to determine the correct approach to apportioning the degree to which the accident had aggravated or exacerbated his pre-existing condition, and how this apportionment should affect the quantum of damages awarded.

The Court of Appeal, in its reasoning, applied the principle that where a plaintiff suffers from a pre-existing condition, damages for injuries sustained in an accident should only be awarded for the aggravation or exacerbation of that condition caused by the accident, not for the pre-existing condition itself. The court found that the trial judge had not sufficiently distinguished between the effects of the accident and the effects of the pre-existing condition. It held that the trial judge had erred by awarding damages that appeared to encompass the entirety of Mr Najjar's disability, rather than isolating the portion attributable to the accident.

Consequently, the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, set aside the original judgment, and remitted the matter back to the Supreme Court for a re-assessment of damages in accordance with the principles articulated by the Court of Appeal. This re-assessment was to specifically consider the extent to which the accident had aggravated Mr Najjar's pre-existing spinal condition.