Personal injury

A judge overseeing five lawsuits seeking compensation on behalf of AFL players who allegedly suffered brain injuries has set the stage for a class action beauty parade, as one law firm flags a possible sixth action.

A declassing bid by nine doctors in a class action on behalf of women allegedly injured by a one-size-fits-all approach to breast implant surgeries must apply to the entire proceeding, not just the claims against them, a court has heard.

Maurice Blackburn has defeated a former client’s bid for summary judgment in an “unusual case” alleging the firm gave him bad advice concerning a personal injury claim against the state of Western Australia over assaults suffered in prison.

A judge has criticised a bid by the NSW government to access seven months of messages relating to drugs by the lead plaintiff in a class action over allegedly illegal strip searches at a Byron Bay music festival, saying they seemed “wholly irrelevant” to the case. 

Former AFL player Gary Ablett Sr is the latest footballer to launch legal action against the league over  injuries allegedly caused by multiple concussions sustained on the field.

Bayer told a jury that clinical trials from the 1990’s to 2014 showed its Essure birth control device was “safe and efficacious”, as the pharmaceutical giant faces trial in a class action by patients who claim they suffered debilitating injuries from the device.

Pharmaceutical giant Bayer cannot write off debilitating chronic pain and bleeding which patients allegedly experienced after being implanted with Essure contraceptives as “common women’s symptoms”, a court has heard in the first day of trial in a long-running class action.

A group member in a class action against J&J unit Depuy International can receive compensation for out of pocket expenses associated with an alleged defective knee implant, despite having been paid by WorkSafe Victoria, a court has found.

A second class action has been filed against the Australian Football League and four clubs on behalf of former players who allegedly suffered brain injuries after sustaining repeated concussions during games.

A judge has approved a $300 million settlement in two pelvic mesh class actions against Johnson & Johnson and unit Ethicon — the largest settlement in the history of Australian product liability group proceedings — but a $100 million deduction for legal costs has yet to get the greenlight.