Skinner v The State of New South Wales

The case of Skinner v The State of New South Wales involved a former police officer who claimed damages for psychiatric injury sustained during his employment. The dispute centred on the admissibility of supplementary expert reports that the plaintiff sought to rely upon in his claim for damages. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The central legal issues revolved around whether the plaintiff should be precluded from having the supplementary expert reports admitted because they were not included in the pre-filing statement. The court was required to determine whether these reports constituted ‘material not reasonably available’ as per the relevant rules of court and whether the plaintiff should be granted leave to rely on these reports. Additionally, the court needed to assess whether the defendant would suffer substantial prejudice if the reports were not admitted.

The court held that the supplementary expert reports should be admitted. The court reasoned that the plaintiff had not intentionally failed to include the reports in the pre-filing statement and that the reports constituted ‘material not reasonably available’ as they were produced after the pre-filing statement was lodged. The court also found that there was no substantial prejudice to the defendant if the reports were admitted. The court granted leave to the plaintiff to rely on the supplementary expert reports.

The orders of the court included granting leave for the plaintiff to rely on the supplementary expert reports and directing the parties to proceed with the trial in light of the additional evidence. The court also made orders regarding the assessment of damages, if the plaintiff were to succeed in his claim.