Sullivan Nicolaides Pty Ltd v Papa

SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

Papa v Sullivan Nicolaides Pty Ltd [2010] QSC 364

PARTIES:

ANTOINETTE PAPA
(plaintiff)

v

SULLIVAN NICOLAIDES PTY LTD
ACN 078 202 196
(defendant)

FILE NO/S:

BS 1588 of 2005

DIVISION:

Trial Division

PROCEEDING:

Trial

ORIGINATING COURT:

Supreme Court of Queensland

DELIVERED ON:

24 September 2010

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

HEARING DATE:

20 April 2009 – 24 April 2009;
Further submissions received 30 April 2010

JUDGE:

Daubney J

ORDER:

1.       There will be judgment for the plaintiff against the defendant in the sum of $2,201,982.00.

2.       I will hear the parties as to costs. 

CATCHWORDS:

PROFESSIONS AND TRADES – HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS – MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS – LIABILITY IN TORT – DUTY TO WARN OF RISKS – where the plaintiff patient had a mechanical heart valve – where as a consequence of this the plaintiff had to take anti-coagulant medication, Warfarin, for the rest of her life – where the levels of Warfarin in the blood needed to be monitored to ensure they remained within an appropriate range – where there were serious risks of blood clots and stroke when the levels of Warfarin dropped below the target range – where there were serious risks of bleeding when the levels of Warfarin were above the target range – where the defendant firm of specialist medical pathologists monitored the plaintiff  - where the plaintiff had five blood tests within 12 days showing her Warfarin level was below the target range – where the defendant advised the plaintiff and her general practitioner that they would no longer be monitoring her Warfarin levels – where the defendant did not tell the plaintiff, her general practitioner or her cardiologist that her Warfarin levels were below the target range – where the plaintiff suffered a stroke – whether the defendant breached its duty of care to the plaintiff 

CSR Limited v Eddy (2005) 226 CLR 1, cited
Nicholson v Nicholson (No 2) (1994) 35 NSWLR 308, cited
Manning v State of New South Wales [2005] NSWSC 958, cited
Rogers v Whitaker (1992) 175 CLR 479, applied
Rosenberg v Percival (2001) 205 CLR 434, applied
Tabet v Gett [2010] HCA 12, cited

Vairy v Wyong Shire Council (2005) 223 CLR 422, applied
Wynn v NSW Insurance Ministerial Corporation (1995) 184 CLR 485, cited

COUNSEL:

ME Eliadis with J McClymont for the plaintiff

SC Williams QC with KA Barlow for the defendant

SOLICITORS:

Shine Lawyers for the plaintiff

Clayton Utz Lawyers for the defendant

1. The plaintiff, who was born on 28 May 1956, suffered from mitral incompetence, i.e. a leaking valve between the left atrium and left ventricle in her heart.  On

   
   

   11 July 2001, she underwent surgery for this condition by a procedure known as a mitral valve replacement, in which an artificial mechanical valve was inserted in her heart.

1. A consequence of the insertion of this mechanical valve was that it became necessary for the plaintiff to take anti-coagulant medication for the rest of her…