Hughes & Anor v Sydney Day Nursery [2000] NSWSC 462

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Hughes & Anor v Sydney Day Nursery [2000] NSWSC 462 CURRENT JURISDICTION: Common Law FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 20908/94 HEARING DATE(S) : 7 February-15 February 2000, 17-23 February 2000 JUDGMENT DATE : 30 May 2000

Linda Hughes (First Plaintiff) Jacob Hughes by his tutor Linda Hughes (Second Plaintiff) SDN Children's Services Inc (formerly known as Sydney Day Nursery & Nursery Schools Association Inc) (Defendant) HIH Winterthur Workers' Compensation (NSW) Pty Limited (First Cross Defendant) PARTIES : Mercantile Mutual Insurance (Australia) Limited (Second Cross Defendant) CIC General Insurance Limited (Third Cross Defendant) HIH Casualty and General Insurance Limited (Fourth Cross Defendant) FAI General Insurance Company Limited (Fifth Cross Defendant) GRE Insurance Limited (Sixth Cross Defendant) Equitable General Insurance Company Limited (New Zealand) (Seventh Cross Defendant) JUDGMENT OF : Studdert J

S. Walmsley SC/M. Fordham (Plaintiff) COUNSEL : M. Cranitch SC/J. Simpkins (Defendant) J. Poulos QC/S. Torrington (First Cross Defendant) D. Davies SC (Second-Seventh Cross Defendants) McCourt Charlton (Plaintiff) SOLICITORS : Clayton Utz (Defendant) HIH Winterthur Workers Compensation (NSW) Pty Ltd (First Cross Defendant) Phillips Fox (Second-Seventh Cross Defendants) CATCHWORDS : CLAIMS IN NEGLIGENCE - employer's duty of care to employee and to her unborn child - nature of duty - whether breach of duty - whether breach causative of harm - INSURANCE - liability of insurer under statutory workers' compensation policy - whether it extended to harm to child transplacentally as consequence of "injury" to mother LEGISLATION CITED : Workers' Compensation Act Interpretation Act Bankstown Foundry Pty Ltd v Braistina (1985-86) 160 CLR 301 Fleming: The Law of Torts, 9th ed. 181-183 X & Y (by her tutor X) v Powell (1991) 23 NSWLR 26 Lynch v Lynch (1991) 25 NSWLR 411 Bendix Mintex Pty Ltd v Barnes (1997) 42 NSWLR 307 ICI Australia Operations Pty Ltd v Walsh & Ors (1997) ATR 81-452 Wallaby Grip (BAE) Pty Ltd (In Liq) v Macleay Area Health Service 17 NSW CCR 355 Turner v State of South Australia (1982) 42 ALR 669 Ellis v Wallsend District Hospital (1989) 17 NSWLR 553 Papadopoulos v New South Wales Insurance Ministerial Corporation [1999] NSWCA 116 Cartledge v Jopling & Sons Ltd [1963] AC 758 Hume Steel Limited v Peart (1947) 75 CLR 242 Zickar v MGH Plastic Industries Pty Limited (1995-96) 187 CLR 310 CASES CITED : E v Australian Red Cross Society (1991) 27 FCR 310 Paton v British Pregnancy Advisory Service Trustees [1979] 1 QB 276 Burton v Islington Health Authority [1993] QB 204 Attorney General for the State of Queensland v T (1983) 57 ALJR 285 Sutton - Insurance Law in Australia, 3rd ed. at 757-758 Kodak (A'asia) Pty Ltd v Retail Traders Mutual Indemnity Insurance Assoc (1942) 42 SR (NSW) 231 Dairy Farmers Co-op Pty Ltd v CIC Insurance Ltd (1991) 7 ANZ Ins Cas 61-093 (SC NSW) Green v Windman [1964] VR 297 Davis & Young Pty Ltd v Assurance Compagnie Baltica etc [1986] VR 203 (FC) Re Linsley & Co-op Insurance Assoc (1976) 62 DLR (3d) 408 Nigel Watts Fashion Agencies Pty Ltd v GIO General Ltd (unreported, NSWCA, 22 December 1994) Rheem Australia v Manufacturers' Mutual Insurance (1984) 2 NSWLR 370 Manufacturers' Mutual Insurance Limited v Hooper (1998) 5 ANZ Insurance Cases 60-849 Cuckson Textiles Pty Ltd v Queensland Insurance Co. Ltd (1968) 88 WN Pt 1 The Workers' Compensation Board of Queensland v Technical Products Pty Ltd (1988) 165 CLR 643 DECISION : See para 243