Polsen v Harrison [2024] NSWCA 224

Court of Appeal Supreme Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Polsen v Harrison [2024] NSWCA 224 Hearing dates: 27 August 2024 Date of orders: 12 September 2024 Decision date: 12 September 2024 Before: Gleeson JA at [1]; Harrison JA at [2]; Basten AJA at [3] Decision: (1) Dismiss the appeal from the judgment and orders made and entered in the Common Law Division on 6 July 2023. (2) Order that the appellant pay the respondent's costs in this Court. Catchwords: OCCUPATIONS – medical practitioners – professional negligence – bariatric surgery – patient discharged with intra-abdominal haematoma – peer professional opinion – whether discharge widely accepted as competent professional practice by peer professional opinion in Australia – Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW), s 5O Legislation Cited: Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW), ss 5B, 5C, 5D, 5I, 5O Cases Cited: Dobler v Halverson (2007) 70 NSWLR 151; [2007] NSWCA 335 South Western Sydney Local Health District v Gould (2018) 97 NSWLR 513; [2018] NSWCA 69 Sparks v Hobson; Gray v Hobson [2018] NSWCA 29; 361 ALR 115 Texts Cited: N Chen, "Exploring the boundaries of professional practice: Sections 5O and 5P of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW)", (2022) 28 Torts LJ 1 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Katrina Marie Polsen (Appellant) Dr Richard Harrison (Respondent) Representation: Counsel: D J Higgs SC / J A Hillier (Appellant) M Windsor SC / M Hutchings (Respondent)