Smithson v Baines

In *Smithson v Baines*, the New South Wales Court of Appeal considered an appeal concerning damages awarded following a motor vehicle accident. The dispute centred on the calculation of damages, specifically whether gross rather than net figures should be used, and the applicability of the principle established in *Kempsey District Hospital v Thackham*.

The Court was required to determine whether the trial judge had erred in applying the "slip rule" in the context of calculating damages. A key legal issue was whether the principle articulated in *Kempsey District Hospital v Thackham*, which deals with the correction of clerical errors, was applicable to the substantive assessment of damages in this instance.

The Court of Appeal found that the trial judge had incorrectly applied the principle from *Kempsey District Hospital v Thackham*. The Court reasoned that the issue was not a mere clerical error but a substantive error in the assessment of damages, which could not be rectified under the slip rule. Consequently, the Court ordered that the orders of the trial judge be varied.