Waller v James [2002] NSWSC 462

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Waller v James [2002] NSWSC 462 CURRENT JURISDICTION: Common Law FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 20527/01 HEARING DATE(S) : 11-12 March 2002 JUDGMENT DATE : 12 June 2002

Deborah Waller (1st Plaintiff) Laurence Waller (2nd Plaintiff) Keeden Waller by his tutor Deborah Waller (3rd Plaintiff) PARTIES : Christopher James (1st Defendant) Sydney IVF Pty Limited (2nd Defendant) Brian Hoolahan (3rd Defendant) Illawarra Health Service (4th Defendant) Phillip Paris-Brown (5th Defendant) JUDGMENT OF : Studdert J

COUNSEL : P.W. Bates (Plaintiffs) P.R. Garling SC/S. Woods (1st, 2nd, 3rd Defendants) SOLICITORS : Autore & Associates (Plaintiffs) Blake Dawson Waldron (1st, 2nd, 3rd Defendants) CATCHWORDS : NEGLIGENCE - parents undergo IVF procedure - parent with AT3 deficiency - failure by those conducting programme to investigate and to advise parents in relation to that AT3 deficiency - whether duty of care owed by those conducting IVF programme to child conceived - if so, content of duty - child born with AT3 deficiency - subsequent thrombosis - whether any breach of duty of care to child - causation of disabilities - AT3 deficiency of genetic and not iatrogenic origin. NEGLIGENCE - doctor who treated mother during pregnancy following IVF procedure - whether duty of care owed to child subsequently born - whether breach of duty to child - causation of disabilities. "WRONGFUL LIFE" claim - whether maintainable - impossibility of determining whether "damage" suffered - impossibility of assessing compensatory damages - public policy considerations. Attorney General for the State of Queensland v T (1983) 57 ALJR 285 Becker v Schwartz 386 N.E.2d 807 (N.Y. 1986) CES v Superclinics (Australia) Pty Limited (1995-96) 38 NSWLR 47 Edwards v Blomeley [2002] NSWSC 460 Groom v Selby (2001) EWCA Civ 1522 Harriton v Stephens [2002] NSWSC 461 Haynes v Bendall (1991) 172 CLR 60 Kosky & Anor v The Trustees of the Sisters of Charity (1982) VR 961 Lacroix v Dominique [2001] MBCA 122 CASES CITED : Mahony v Kruschich (Demolitions) Pty Limited (1985) 156 CLR 522 The Marriage of F & F (1989) FLC 92-031 McKay & Anor v Essex Area Health Authority & Anor [1982] 1 QB 1166 Melchior & Anor v Cattanach & Anor [2001] QCA 246 Nelson v Krusen 678 S.W. 2d 918 (Tex. 1984) Parkinson v St James & Seacroft University Hospital (2001) 3 All ER 97 Paton v BPAS Trustees (1979) 1 KB 276 Perruche, Cour de Cassation, France (17 November 2000) Vievers v Connolly (1995) 2 Qd R 325 Watt v Rama (1972) VR 353 X & Y (by her tutor X) v Pal & Ors (1991) 23 NSWLR 26 DECISION : See para 69.