Sdrolias v Allianz Australia Insurance Ltd [2022] NSWCA 20

Court of Appeal Supreme Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Sdrolias v Allianz Australia Insurance Ltd [2022] NSWCA 20 Hearing dates: 12 October 2021 Decision date: 24 February 2022 Before: Macfarlan JA at [1]; Meagher JA at [2]; McCallum JA at [3] Decision: 1. Dismiss the appeal. 2. Appellant to pay the respondent's costs. Catchwords: NEGLIGENCE – Causation – Purely psychiatric injury – Post-traumatic stress disorder – Where trial judge disbelieved plaintiff's evidence as to the event she witnessed and as to her symptoms – Whether error in fact-finding established – importance of paying due deference to the trial judge's advantage in hearing the evidence Cases Cited: Sdrolias v Power Distribution Services Pty Ltd [2021] NSWSC 321 Fox v Percy (2003) 214 CLR 118; [2003] HCA 22 Robinson Helicopter Company Inc v McDermott [2016] HCA 22 Lee v Lee (2019) 266 CLR 129; [2019] HCA 28 Warner v Hung; Re Bellpac Pty Ltd (No 2) [2011] FCA 1123 Nguyen v Cosmopolitan Homes [2008] NSWCA 246 Texts Cited: D H Hodgson, "The scales of justice: Probability and proof in legal fact finding" (1995) 69 ALJ 731 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Evangellia Sdrolias (Appellant) Allianz Australia Insurance Ltd (Respondent) Representation: Counsel: R McIlwaine SC with R Goodridge (Appellant) P Morris SC with R Perla (Respondent)

Solicitors: Firths Compensation Lawyers (Appellant) Moray & Agnew (Respondent) File Number(s): 2021/117171 Publication restriction: None Decision under appeal Court or tribunal: Supreme Court of New South Wales Jurisdiction: Civil Citation: [2021] NSWSC 321 Date of Decision: 1 April 2020 Before: Fagan J File Number(s): 2016/322372