Healey v Penrith City Council; Healey v Ussher; Healey v GIO General Limited (No 2) [2014] NSWSC 1870

Healey v Penrith City Council; Healey v Ussher; Healey v GIO General Limited (No 2) [2014] NSWSC 1870

The reference in the primary judgment to future gratuitous care was an accidental slip and should be corrected to future commercial domestic assistance at seven hours per week at $40 per hour for 19.3 years; the plaintiff's subsisting tax liability justified a $7,500 Fox v Wood allowance; applying s 151Z(2)(c), the employers' responsibility was treated as 50 per cent and GIO's liability was 35 per cent of the whole verdict; and interest should be paid up to judgment because unreasonable delay causing injustice to the defendants was not established.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
23 December 2014
Procedural Posture
Common Law Workers Compensation Damages Proceedings / Consequential Orders After Judgment on Principal Issues
Outcome
Primary judgment corrected and consequential issues determined; parties directed to bring in draft minutes of orders reflecting the judgments.
Legal Topics
['future Domestic Assistance' 'slip Rule Correction' 'apportionment Under S 151 Z Workers Compensation Act 1987 (nsw)' 'fox V Wood Component' 'interest on Damages' 'costs Submissions']
['workers Compensation' 'damages' 'tort' 'civil Procedure'] ['future Domestic Assistance' 'slip Rule Correction' 'apportionment Under S 151 Z Workers Compensation Act 1987 (nsw)' 'fox V Wood Component' 'interest on Damages' 'costs Submissions']

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Procedural Posture

Common Law Workers Compensation Damages Proceedings / Consequential Orders After Judgment on Principal Issues

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether future domestic assistance should be calculated on a gratuitous or commercial basis and whether the primary judgment could be corrected under the slip rule.' 'Whether other errors in the primary judgment concerning the naming of parties and the position of Robert William Ussher Junior should be corrected.' 'Whether the Fox v Wood amount should include income tax liability for the period from 4 May 2005 until 2 November 2005 when deductions were not made.' "How s 151Z(2)(c) of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW) required reduction or apportionment of damages where employers and third parties contributed to the plaintiff's injuries." 'Whether interest should be reduced because of delays in the litigation attributed to the plaintiff.']

Ratio Decidendi

The reference in the primary judgment to future gratuitous care was an accidental slip and should be corrected to future commercial domestic assistance at seven hours per week at $40 per hour for 19.3 years; the plaintiff's subsisting tax liability justified a $7,500 Fox v Wood allowance; applying s 151Z(2)(c), the employers' responsibility was treated as 50 per cent and GIO's liability was 35 per cent of the whole verdict; and interest should be paid up to judgment because unreasonable delay causing injustice to the defendants was not established.

Court Disposition

Primary judgment corrected and consequential issues determined; parties directed to bring in draft minutes of orders reflecting the judgments.

Orders

  • ['The primary judgment is amended so that future domestic assistance is allowed as future commercial care of seven hours per week at $40 per hour for 19.3 years.' 'The title page of the judgment is to be corrected by removing the reference to Penrith City Council from proceeding 2010/350196.' 'Robert William Ussher...