Miller v Hawkins [1999] NSWSC 1163

New South Wales Supreme Court CITATION : Miller v Hawkins [1999] NSWSC 1163 CURRENT JURISDICTION : Civil FILE NUMBER(S) : 300063/97 HEARING DATE(S) : 28/10/99,29/10/99,1/11/99 JUDGMENT DATE : 1 December 1999

PARTIES : Kathleen Mary Miller (Plt) Diane Hawkins (Def) JUDGMENT OF : Newman J

COUNSEL : D T Kennedy SC (Plt) J P Guihot (Def) SOLICITORS : Stanger & Clarke (Plt) Hunt & Hunt (Def) CATCHWORDS : DECISION : Assessment only

THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES COMMON LAW DIVISION

NEWMAN J

WEDNESDAY, 1 DECEMBER 1999

NEWCASTLE: 63/97 - MILLER v HAWKINS

JUDGMENT

1 HIS HONOUR: This is a claim for damages for personal injuries arising out of a motor vehicle accident which happened on 23 July 1996. Breach of duty of care has been admitted by the defendant thus the matter is one for the assessment of damages pursuant to the Motor Accidents Act 1988 should the plaintiff qualify for such damages. 2 Because a breach of duty has been conceded by the defendant it is not necessary for me to examine the circumstances of the accident in great detail. However, it is relevant to note that the accident involved a collision between two motor cars of great severity. Photographs of the plaintiff's car demonstrate the impaction between the vehicles was one involving considerable force. 3 That the plaintiff suffered injuries in the accident was not the subject of any contest. Such was the force of the impact that her knees had come into contact with the dashboard of the vehicle and her chest came into hard contact with the steering wheel. 4 She was taken from the scene of the accident which was in the Newcastle area, to the John Hunter hospital. At that hospital investigations revealed that she had suffered the following injuries: