BLAXTER v COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA [2008] NSWCA 87

New South Wales Court of Appeal

CITATION: BLAXTER v COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA [2008] NSWCA 87 This decision has been amended. Please see the end of the judgment for a list of the amendments.

HEARING DATE(S): 1 April 2008

JUDGMENT DATE: 8 May 2008

JUDGMENT OF: Mason P at 1; McColl JA at 2; Basten JA at 3

(1) Allow the appeal and set aside order 1 made by the trial judge and entered on 20 March 2007. (2) In lieu thereof give judgment for the plaintiff, Lawrence Gary Blaxter, in an amount of $942,163. DECISION: (3) Dismiss the cross-appeal. (4) Order the respondent to pay the appellant's costs of the appeal and cross-appeal. (5) Grant liberty to each party to file a note within 7 days as to any correction required to the calculations of the amount of the judgment.

CATCHWORDS: DAMAGES – Melbourne/Voyager collision – psychiatric injury – alcohol abuse – whether economic loss a result of collision or voluntary conduct by appellant – intervening act - DAMAGES – predicting future events absent effects of tortious conduct – recovery for loss of a chance of promotion - REASONS – judgment delivered without making orders – further reasons – no breach of obligation to give reasons at time - TORT – continuation of event – conduct of officer of defendant on morning after accident – whether part of tortious conduct

LEGISLATION CITED: Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW), r 36.2

CATEGORY: Principal judgment

Chapman v Hearse (1961) 106 CLR 112 Commonwealth v McLean (1996) 41 NSWLR 389 Commonwealth v Ryan [2002] NSWCA 372 Fleming v The Queen [1998] HCA 68; 197 CLR 250 CASES CITED: Hirst v Nominal Defendant [2005] QCA 65; [2005] 2 QdR 133 Medlin v State Government Insurance Commission (1995) 182 CLR 1 Palmer v Clarke (1989) 19 NSWLR 158 Reynolds v Katoomba RSL All Services Club Ltd [2001] NSWCA 234; 53 NSWLR 43 Todorovic v Moussa [2001] NSWCA 419; 53 NSWLR 463