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JUDGMENT No.7 734...
CATCHWORDS
Damages ~ Assessment — Whether adequate - No new question of
principle involved.
~
ON APPEAL FROM THE SUPREME COURT OF THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL
TERRITORY
MARGARET GINICH v. TONY JOHNSTON
No. ACT G30 of 1986
Kelly, Neaves and Spender JJ
11 June 1987
Canberra, A.C.T.
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IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
DISTRICT REGISTRY
)
)
)
) No. ACT G30 of 1986
)
)
GENERAL DIVISION )
ON APPEAL FROM THE SUPREME COURT
OF THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
BETWEEN: MARGARET GINICH
Appellant
AND: TONY JOHNSTON
Respondent
MINUTE OF ORDER
Judges Making Order: Kelly, Neaves and Spender JJ
Date of Order: 11 June 1987
Where Order Made: Canberra, A.C.T.
THE COURT ORDERS THAT:
1. The appeal be dismissed with costs.
NOTE: Settlement and entry of orders is dealt with in Order
36 of the Federal Court Rules.
oe He
Be ee et
IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAT. TERRITORY
)
)
)
) No. ACT G30 of 1986
DISTRICT REGISTRY )
)
)
GENERAL DIVISION
ON APPEAL FROM THE SUPREME COURT
OF THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
BETWEEN: MARGARET GINICH
Appellant
AND: TONY JOHNSTON
Respondent
CORAM: Kelly, Neaves and Spender JJ
DATE: 11 June 1987
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
THE COURT:
This is an appeal from a judgment of the Supreme
Court of the Australian Capital Territory whereby the
appellant was awarded damages of $42,929.31 for personal
injury sustaaned in an accident which occurred in June 1978.
At the time of the accident she was a nurses'
aide, having begun training for that occupation in October
1972 when she ceased secretarial work which she had taken up
after leaving High School in 1970 when she was in fifth
form. She married in 1973, apparently in or about July or
August. Late in 1973 she began to work at Morling Lodge, a
geriatric home, She was working there for about three
months when she found that she was pregnant and had to
leave. After she had her first child she went back to work
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in November 1974 at the Woden Valley Hospital geriatric
centre. She preferred night duty and usually worked the 11
p.em. to 7.30 a.m. shift, four nights on and four nights off
on a rotating roster. She worked until the end of 1977 when
she left about six weeks before the birth of her second
child on 15 February 1978. She planned to go back to work
in September 1978. At the time of the accident her health
was good.
When the accident happened she was stopped in
Hindmarsh Drive behind another car when she was struck from
behind by a "great big car". Immediately after the accident
she felt pain in her head. She was taken to the Woden
Valley Hospital where she was provided with a cervical
collar. She went home about three hours after the accident.
Thereafter her treatment and complaints of pain
and disability are set out in the reports of Dr Newcombe, a
neurosurgeon under whose care she came after the accident.
Dr Newcombe was not called to give evidence,
Counsel for the respondent said that there would be no
objection to his reports going in without the need for
cross-examination and the trial proceeded on that basis. Mr
Mann, a specialist surgeon, was called to give evidence on
behalf of the appellant as was Dr A.G. Cumpston, an
occupational health physician. fhe latter did not examine
her at all but relied on an interview with her and on Dr
Newcombe's reports. The former examined her twice, once on
23 April 1982 and again on 28 April 1986. He had the
assistance of a "large number of reports that were sent to
{him]"
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including three from Dr Cassar who examined the
appellant on behalf of the respondent three times, the last
some time before, and no doubt shortly before, 10 July 1984.
Dr Newcombe's reports covered a period of nearly
eight years. Their effect may be summarised as follows:~
(a)
(bd)
(ce)
(d)
The appellant suffered a whiplash injury with
transient dislocation at the C4-5 level of the
cervical spine. There waS a good chance that
neurological signs which were apparent would
resolve conservatively. (29 June 1978)
On 5 September 1978 she was still having
considerable neck pain, constant but of varying
levels, and difficulty in driving, lifting her
four year old child without aggravation of pain,
bathing her baby, ironing and lifting clothes out
of the washing machine. She was then unable to
return to work.
By 5 December 1978 there was considerable
improvement in the pain although it continued on
both sides of the back of the neck.
On 16 January 1979 there was pain down the medial
side of the arm, the neck pain continuing by and
large unchanged. Despite the level of pain Dr
Newcombe thought she was fit to try to return to
work as a nurses aide on night duty, having
physiotherapy on afternoons off. There was no
definite bony injury seen on x~ray and he thought
her whiplash symptoms would gradually subside over
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the next six months. He did not expect any long
term seguelae but said that any injury such as the
appellant had suffered might lead to cervical
spondylosis which might in turn require operative
treatment. He did not attempt to fix a time when
that condition might become apparent. He said it
would be very difficult to estimate the risk but
he would put it at around 30%.
On 8 May 1979 her situation remained largely
unchanged except that her right arm pain seemed to
have been getting worse with associated weakness.
X-rays taken on 17 April 1979 showed no fracture
or other abnormality. Disc spaces were intact but
there were minor degrees of movement between the
4th, 5th and 6th cervical vertebrae.
on 14 August 1979 the appellant was working in a
premature nursery, still having some neck pain at
times but able to manage all the work except heavy
lifting of wash baskets. She had a full range of
neck movement.
On 16 November 1979 she had deteriorated to some
extent. She had left occipital headaches and some
subjective weakness of the right arm. She had a
degree of neck stiffness with tenderness on the
left sub-occipital areas.
On 5 September 1980 she had numbness in the left
hand, especially the ulnar two fingers and cramps
in the neck. She had a vague sensory loss in the
—
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(3)
(k)
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area supplied by C8 dermatomes but neck movements
had become almost full in range.
Following the birth of her child at the end of
November 1980 she presented on 24 February 1981
with more neck problems. She had headaches every
couple of weeks. She complained of fairly
constant neck ache and weakness of the right arm
with pain down the medial side of the right upper
limb. Dr Newcombe found little in the way of neck
restriction but considerable weakness of diffuse
distribution in the upper limb with no definite
reflex change. He then considered it unlikely
that she would be able to return to nursing.
On 19 May 1981 she was still complaining of
weakness in the right hand, loss of facility with
finger movements, ache in the right forearm and
occipital headaches radiating towards the frontal
region. Mild neck stiffness and some crepitus of
the neck were present together with persistent
sensory loss in the right forearm and thumb area.
Writing and typing aggravated her pain. Dr
Newcombe felt that overall she was managing quite
well at home. Her continuing symptoms were not
severe enough to warrant myelography or operation.
Cervical spine films of 24 November 1981 were
within normal limits but cervical discography on
10 February 1982 revealed degenerative changes at
C4-5, C5-6 and C6-7 intervertebral disc levels.
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Reproduction of pain occurred at the C5-6 level
and this was severe. She was continuing to
complain of neck pain with headache especially on
the left side and also of right hand cramps. Dr
Newcombe thought it probable that her injury had
resulted in intervertebral disc change at all
three levels but especially at the C5-6 level,
that which appeared to be responsible for her
continuing symptoms. He thought that she might
require surgery within 5 years with a resulting
likely diminution of symptoms although some
remaining symptomatology might be anticipated.
Whatever the outcome he would not recommend return
to nursing.
On 24 December 1982 her condition remained
essentially unchanged, stable and unlikely to
change.
On 9 November 1983 the appellant "had continued
migraine aggravated by her cervical lesions at
C4-5, C5-6 and C6-7 levels with one severe
headache every eight or nine days". Six weeks
later severe headache, particularly in the left
occipital region, was again noted as also were
cramps in the neck,
On 24 January 1985 she had continued neck pain and
pain at the left side of the head,
On 16 May 1985 headaches were continuing with
varying intensity. She had neck pain with
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stiffness but overall was managing. Physiotherapy
was helping. Her general condition following her
injury appeared stable and no further medical care
was arranged.
At his first examination on 23 April 1982, the
appellant complained to Mr Mann of headaches from the back
of her neck on to the top of her head (in her own words to
him, her worst symptom), neck stiffness associated with
pain, weakness of the right arm with inability to grip
firmly, diminution of feeling in the little and ring fingers
of the right hand and pains in the right wrist radiating up
the forearm. She was unable to iron for long periods or to
do heavy housework. On examination he found her to have
reduction of neck movements by about 20% in all directions
with diminution of sensation in the little and ring fingers
of the right hand, the grip of which was poor. All other
movements in the right arm were performed reasonably
powerfully. He thought she had quite marked disability due
to residual pain and stiffness of the neck following the
injury, headaches probably due to compression of the nerves
supplying the back of the head and weakness of the right arm
and loss of feeling in the ring and little fingers due in
all probability to injury of the roots of brachial plexus.
He thought it too early to make an assessment of residual
disability but that it was very likely that she would come
to surgery. In cross~examination he was asked whether the
appellant's headaches could be described as migraine type
headaches. He did not really think that conclusion could be
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drawn. He described migraine headaches as classically
unilateral although they could be bilateral. He thought the
fact that the headaches were bilaterally symmetrical at the
back of the head following whiplash injury of the cervical
spine would make one believe that there was some irritation
impingement on the nerves that came out of the spinal canal
at that level. He would not have described the headaches of
which the appellant complained to him as of a migraine
nature.
Mr Mann's opinion did not change following his
examination of the appellant in April 1986. His conclusion
was that her complaints that she could not do heavy
housework were consistent with the nature of his findings.
On the basis of the history and the evidence presented to
him he thought her complaints were due to the accident. He
doubted whether she could go hack to nursing. He thought
that she seemed to be coping and would be well advised not
to undergo surgery unless some aggravating episode should
dictate it.. He would not forbid her return to work but
would have reservations about her going back to heavy
activity such as lifting geriatrics and had doubts about
work involving a lot of lifting of children or a lot of
stooping. He thought she could work as a doctor's
receptionist.
On the basis of the history furnished him by the
appellant and the reports of Dr Newcombe, Dr Cumpston
concluded that the appellant was suffering from cervical
radiculopathy caused by degeneration and protrusion of
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cervical discs at C4-5, C5-6 and C6-7 levels. He did not
consider her fit to return to nursing or to any alternative
work involving repetitive use of the right arm.
Dr Cassar examined the appellant on behalf of the
respondent. In his first report of 13 October 1980 he
stated that x-rays taken on 23 June 1978 of the skull and
cervical spine were completely normal. On examination he
found completely normal movements of the cervical spine and
of the upper and lower limbs without any evidence of spinal
nerve root entrapment. He said that the appellant's
complaints of disabilities were not supported by his
findings on examination. He concluded by saying that on the
basis of the history whiplash symptoms continued for twelve
months after the accident but they had completely resolved
with no indication of permanent neck damage and specifically
no degenerative changes in bones, discs or nerve root
outlets. In his report of 1 February 1983 he said:-
"TI have previously made mention of the
[appellant's] past medical history of
migraine, the latter being around time of
menstrual blood loss and of the aggravation
of the same following her involvement in the
accident of 1978. It would appear that the
headaches, as described, of 1981 were purely
a continuation of this migraine. On February
10 1982 Dr Ray Newcombe, neurosurgeon, and Dr
Ken Goard, radiologist, performed cervical
discogram on [the appellant], examining
levels C4-5, C5-6 and C6-7 where degenerative
changes were evident and they found pain only
at the C5-6 level, both on contacting the
anterior cervical structures as well as on
injection of contrast - the latter being
associated with pain radiating into the head
and neck and_ shoulders. There was no
radiation of pain at other levels. Physical
examination of [the appellant] at her most
recent visit showed normal extent of movement
in the cervical spine, no clinical evidence
of cervical nerve root irritation and
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specifically no localisation of problems at
the C5-6 level - the level localised on
discogram as being suspicious of disc
degeneration."
He considered that the appellant's continuing disabilities
were loss of control of migraine and permanent partial
disability of C5-6 disc degeneration resulting in periodic
aching and weakness of the-right arm but not requiring any
surgical decompression and not of a severity to be
interfering with normal domestic, recreational and working
needs.
After again examining the appellant on 10 July
1984, he said:-
"In relation to claim for aggravation of
previous migraine, that particular disability
persists. »+» Again it is my opinion that
the headaches are of a true migraine nature
being accompanied by visual disturbance and
altered sensation in the right arm, the
frequency of serious attacks being no more
than one a year, the last being July 1983.
The descriptions of other headaches which
occur I suggest are tension headaches, mild
migraine and muscle contraction pain in the
left occipital area, possibly related to the
whiplash injury and disc compression in the
cervical spine previously mentioned."
He found some physical signs present in respect of the
disabled neck. He did not think there was any appreciable
change in the injuries and disabilities as they had been
detailed in his report of 1 February 1983.
The evidence supported the trial Judge's finding
that before the accident the appellant had absences from
work due to migraine headaches for 164 working days out of
182 1n 1975, for 283 days in 1976 and for 223 days in 1977.
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His Honour accepted Dr Cassar's ecvidence and
proceeded to assess damages accordingly. It should be noted
that Dr Cassar said in evidence;-
"I am not doubting that this woman possibly
has a dise lesion. What I am doubting is the
severity of that lesion."
The first specific ground of appeal (the third)
was that the learned trial Judge erred in accepting Dr
Cassar's evidence to the exclusion of the other medical
evidence. Much criticism was levelled at his acceptance of
Dr Cassar's evidence against that of Dr Newcombe, the
appellant's treating neurosurgeon, and that of Mr Mann and
Dr Cumpston. The criticism was based on three grounds.
First it was said that because Dr Cassar's special fields of
interest were cardiology and rheumatology and not neurology,
his opinion ought not to have prevailed over those of the
treating specialist and the other specialists in relevant
fields, surgery and occupational health. Secondly, it was
said that by merely accepting Dr Cassar's evidence he failed
to make up his own mind. Such acceptance, it was said,
related to all Dr Cassar's evidence - medical issues,
disability, extent of pain and any other matters touched on
by the doctor. Thirdly it was put, and this was the
gravamen of the sixth ground of appeal as well, that his
Honour failed to consider that the question of the
appellant's pre-accident headaches had not been put to the
appellant's doctors when they gave evidence.
To take those matters in turn, there is no warrant
for the submission that the evidence of a consultant
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physician, no matter what the fields of his primary
interest, ought not to be accepted over that of the
consultant treating specialist in the particular field. As
a consultant physician, Dr Cassar was plainly qualified to
give evidence on the appellant's condition. No judge is
bound to accept the evidence of any expert or, indeed, of
any witness against that of another. This is so even though
one would expect that when medical reports are tendered
without objection and no application 1s made to have the
doctor cross-examined, opposing counsel may be taken to have
conceded the accuracy of those reports. This seems to
follow from Browne v. Dunn (1894) 6 R. 67 (HL). See also
Reid v. Kerr (1974) 9 S.A.S.R. 367 at pp.373-4, Thomas v.
van den Yssel (1976) 14 S.A.S.R. 205 at p.207 and Allied
Pastoral Holdings Pty Ltd v. Commissioner of Taxation [1983]
1 N.S.W.L.R. 1 at pp.16, 22-3.
But the accuracy of the reports is one thing,
their interpretation another. To assist him in interpreting
the reports and in particular in assessing the level of the
appellant's disability, the trial Judge had a number of
aids, There was evidence of the appellant herself that she
engaged in work caring for children. As a result she was
able to earn $75 per week. Admittedly she said that her arm
and neck had got much worse so that she could not, at the
time of giving evidence, cope with more than she had at the
moment, having just had to relinquish the care of one little
girl whom she had looked after for a year. A comparison of
the report made by Dr Newcombe following review of the
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appellant on 9 March 1982, a report which is summarised in
sub-paragraph (k) above, with that of Mr Mann following
examination on 23 April 1982 shows that their views
basically coincided. After he examined the appellant on 28
April 1986, Mr Mann's view remained unchanged. He gave
evidence four days later. Significantly there was no
reference in it to a worsening of the appellant's condition
although on the same day he deposed to such a worsening.
His was the latest medical evidence and he was the only
doctor who actually examined her after 16 May 1985.
It is also obvious that Dr Cassar's views
expressed in his reports were known to the appellant's legal
advisers because Mr Mann had been furnished with copies of
those reports before he or Dr Cassar gave evidence. Counsel
for the respondent did cross-examine Mr Mann about the
appellant's headaches. It is plain from the
eross-examination that Mr Mann did not consider the
headaches to be "of migraine nature" although he conceded
that others might describe them that way. Dr Cumpston was
not cross-examined on the subject. There was therefore
available to the learned trial Judge the choice of two
opinions - one tendered on behalf of the appellant that the
headaches from which she suffered were due, at least
principally, to the injury which she had sustained, the
other, tendered on behalf of the respondent, that' the
headaches were
"of a true migraine nature being accompanied
by visual disturbance and altered sensation
ian the right arm, the frequency of serious
attacks being no more than one a year, the
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last being July 1983. The descriptions of
other headaches ... were suggestive of
tension headaches, mild migraine and muscle
contraction pain in the left occipital area,
possibly related to the whiplash injury and
disc compression of the cervical spine
previously mentioned".
It cannot be said, therefore, that the opposing
views were not clearly put. There is thus no room for the
application of the rule in Browne v. Dunn (supra).
Perusal of Dr Newcombe's reports gives' the
impression that his view was that the appellant had suffered
a cervical disc lesion at three levels centering on the C5-6
level which aggravated her migraine headaches and left her
with neck difficulties and right arm weakness. He did not
give any indication of the extent of the aggravation nor do
the reports indicate when 1t might be that surgery could
become necessary, the extent of the pain which would bring
about the need for that surgery or the possible or probable
sequelae of the surgery. He would not, it would appear,
have recommended her return to nursing, surgery or no. Mr
Mann's views on her possible return to nursing are set out
above as is the effect of Dr Cumpston's report.
In these circumstances, it was open to the learned
trial Judge to attribute to the pre-accident migraine a
greater share of the appellant's disability than 1s now
contended for. It 1s not, as one sees the evidence, a case
where the learned trial Judge rejected completely the
evidence brought on behalf of the appellant. Rather it is a
case where he accepted the emphasis placed on aspects of the
appellant's condition by Dr Cassar. Coupled with this must
necessarily have been his view of the appellant although he
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did not say so specifically in his reasons for judgment. It
was open to him on the evidence to accept that the severity
of the migraine headaches from which the appellant suffered
before the accident was much greater than she had indicated
in her evidence before him. This he plainly did.
The fifth ground alleged that his Honour erred in
failing to find that the appellant's headaches had been
significantly aggravated by the accident. Dr Andrews, a
neurologist who examined the appellant on behalf of the
respondent, was not called to give evidence. It was
submitted, therefore, that it might reasonably be inferred
that his evidence would not have favoured the respondent's
case. We do not think the rule in Jones v. Dunkel (1959)
101 C.L.R. 298 compels such a_ conclusion. See the
discussion of the rule in Cross on Evidence, 3rd Australian
edn. at pp.35-7. The ground is inextricably bound up with
the third and sixth grounds and all three, we think, fail.
The fourth ground alleged that his Honour erred in
finding that the appellant was not incapacitated for work
after 31 December 1982. His Honour based his finding in
this regard on the evidence of Dr Cassar and that evidence,
accepted as it was, was sufficient to support the finding.
We think the ground fails.
The seventh ground alleged that his Honour erred
in failing to conclude that the appellant's medical
condition had deteriorated due to the accident, it being
alleged that a conclusion to that effect was inescapable.
But in accepting Dr Cassar's view, his Honour necessarily
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accepted that she had problems other than her pre-accident
migraine after the accident and that acceptance could only
have been on the basis that her medical condition had
deteriorated due to the accident. The extent of that
deterioration was a matter of dispute. We think the ground
fails.
Grounds 8, 9 and 10 may be considered together,
They alleged that his Honour erred in finding that the
appellant had a substantial capacity for work, that in
particular she had the capacity to work and obtain work as a
doctor's receptionist and that vacancies in that field
occurred regularly in the Australian Capital Territory.
These findings were said to be either not open on the
evidence or contrary to the evidence. We refer to Dr
Cassar's opinion already expressed upon which the learned
trial Judge relied and refer again to Mr Mann who expressed
in his evidence that she could try work as a doctor's
receptionist, He did place one restriction on that. He
said it was distinctly possible that if she had to keep her
arms up all the time in front of a typewriter she might have
trouble. He also considered that she might be able to work
as a kindergarten assistant although i1f there were a lot of
lifting children and stooping involved she might find it
Gifficult. Dr Newcombe's reports referred to her incapacity
for work in relation only to her previous work as a nurse.
A personnel consultant with approximately nine
years experience of recruitment of staff from junior
clerical officer level to senior managerial level gave
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evidence that there were a number of positions as doctor's
receptionist available in Canberra from time to time, that
there would be every possibility that a person with the
appellant's experience could locate such work on a full time
basis and that it would be possible for such a person
working full time to earn about $15,500 per year as a
minimum. He agreed that in his experience in Canberra which
had stopped three months before he gave evidence, positions
as doctor's receptionist came up guite regularly. He agreed
un cross-examination that a person with a disability in the
right arm which made typing very difficult would find it
counting very much against her in applying for such a job as
would headaches which would keep her off work for a couple
of days every couple of weeks or so.
Since his Honour accepted Dr Cassar's view of the
appellant's condition, it follows that he was entitled to
accept that she could obtain work as a doctor's receptionist
and that such positions became available quite regularly.
The eleventh ground alleged that the award of
$20,000 for -past loss of wages was unreasonably inadequate
and that the "rounding off" to allow for past vicissitudes,
a process which involved a reduction in the amount of loss
found of $985, was not based on any reasonable view of the
evidence, Of course, not all future contingencies are
unfavourable and an allowance upward may properly be made in
respect of favourable contingencies. But where a person
working approximately 1823 days a year has over a period of
three years an average of 223 working days off because of a
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medical condition, it is not unreasonable to expect that
there might have been some unfavourable contingency to be
taken into account in respect of past loss of earnings. It
1s true that some of this would no doubt have been taken up
by sick leave credits but the contingency remained.
However, even if the reduction was totally incorrect, it
would amount to an error of less than 5% of the total
finding for past loss and such an error would not, in our
opinion, support the upholding of the appeal.
The amount found in respect of past loss depended
upon the learned trial Judge's view of the evidence and his
assessment of the date when the appellant would have been
able to return to work. On those findings the amount
awarded in respect of past loss could not be said to be
unreasonably inadequate nor could his Honour's award in
respect of general damages be held to be excessively low as
was alleged in ground 12.
Ground 13 alleged that his Honour's finding that
the appellant would not have returned to work because she
had children was contrary to all the evidence and was not
reasonably open is to be seen in context. In giving his
reasons for judgment his Honour said:-
"Tt must be borne in mind that the
{appellant] 1s a married woman with four
children and her youngest child is only 16
months old. My impression is that the reason
that she is no longer working as a nurse is
because of the demands of her family and the
fact that the child minding which she is
doing is a suitable alternative activity in
all the circumstances, It brings in the
extra money which the family requires. It is
further my impression that if it was
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necessary for the plaintiff to engage in more
extensive work and longer hours she would be
able to summon the motivation to do so and
would have the physical capacity to do so,
That is not to say that she does not have
periods of incapacity due to headaches.
With regard to loss of earning capacity, I am
satisfied on the evidence that the
[appellant] enjoyed nursing and had some sort
of a vague desire to do her general nursing
certificate and become a registered nurse. I
do not accept, however, that the accident has
thwarted that desire. She had been overcome
by the natural increase in her family. For
the reasons which I have mentioned earlier,
it aus unrealistic to contemplate that a
married woman with four children, the
youngest of which is only 16 months old,
would be able to return to nursing to do
night duty four nights on and four nights off
for a considerable time. She has roughly the
same earning capacity now as she had prior to
the accident, although that capacity might
have to be redirected into receptionist nurse
duties rather than general nursing duties."
In our view, 1t cannot be said that the view which
the learned trial Judge took of the appellant's continuing
earning capacity was intultive or idiosyncratic. He plainly
accepted that she had a continuing earning capacity of
approximately the same level as that which she would have
had except for the accident. That being the case it was
inappropriate to award damages in respect of loss of future
earning capacity.
Ground 14, that the learned trial Judge failed to
allow for the appellant's future pharmaceutical needs, was
dependent upon the acceptance of the appellant's treating
doctor. In view of his Honour's findings this ground also
fails.
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The last ground, having to do with costs, does not
fall to be considered.
It was submitted on behalf of the appellant that,
in view of the way in which Dr Newcombe's reports came to be
admitted into evidence, they should be accepted and that,
therefore, this Court was in just as good a position as was
the trial Judge to assess their effect. Warren v. Coombes
(1979) 142 CLR 531. But the rule in that case applies when
inferences are drawn from undisputed facts, not when, as
here, there is, as his Honour found, we think rightly, a
conflict of evidence. There was a conflict between Mr
Mann's and Dr Cassar's evidence, Dr Newcombe's reports were
not necessarily to be accepted and his Honour obviously took
account of his impressions of the appellant whom, of course,
this Court did not see. We are unable to accept the rule as
of assistance in this case.
The appeal should be dismissed with costs.
I certify that this and thewmwereev
pre<:..sng pages are a true copy of the
Reas. s for Judgment herein of bisHenour
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