Personal injury

A judge has held that there could be favourable costs consequences for Carnival if its rejected $15 million settlement offer in the Ruby Princess class action turns out to be more generous than the ultimate damages award, departing from a previous ruling that so-called Calderbank offers do not operate in group proceedings. 

Asylum seekers who were put in immigration detention in South Australia can transfer their cases to the Federal Court to run their claims as a class action accusing the federal government of negligence and unlawful detention.

Health law practitioners are grappling with “snowballing awards” in claims over psychiatric injuries, according to Sparke Helmore’s new health law partner. 

A judge has approved a $4.5 million settlement in a class action over a fire allegedly ignited by welding work in rural NSW, despite a handful of objections from group members. 

The judge overseeing a suite of cases brought by holidaymakers who were seriously injured in a fatal bus collision in Vanuatu has hit out at QBE for ignoring queries about an insurance policy, as the defendants in the case scramble pass the buck for the crash. 

The New South Wales government wants to strike out class action claims that police conducted illegal strip searches at music festivals in the state ‘as a matter of routine’ and that it should face exemplary damages.

The High Court has refused to throw out a personal injury case over 55-year-old child sexual abuse claims, despite the death of the alleged perpetrator and most relevant witnesses, saying a permanent stay is a “measure of last resort”. 

A class action over a December 2019 fire that was allegedly ignited by welding work on a rural property in NSW and spread out of control has settled for $4.5 million. 

A judge has found Carnival PLC liable for failing to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak aboard the Ruby Princess cruise ship that left 28 people dead, but only awarded the lead applicant $4,000 for out-of-pocket expenses rather than the $360,000 in damages she sought. 

A class action against the AFL on behalf of players who allegedly suffered brain injuries will expand its group definition to include family members and dependents, while a competing case by the widow of Shane Tuck has been dropped.