Sargent v South Western Area Health Service [2010] NSWSC 1506

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Sargent v South Western Area Health Service [2010] NSWSC 1506

HEARING DATE(S) : 17 December 2010

JUDGMENT DATE : 17 December 2010

JUDGMENT OF : Garling J

EX TEMPORE JUDGMENT DATE : 17 December 2010

DECISION : Interim payment of damages ordered

CATCHWORDS : PROCEDURE – Supreme Court procedure – New South Wales – Order for interim payment of damages – Plaintiff a quadriplegic with need for constant care and specialised housing – Whether the court is satisfied, on the balance of probabilities and on the material before it on the application, that the plaintiff would obtain judgment at trial – Whether the plaintiff is required to establish an identified need for interim damages

LEGISLATION CITED : Civil Procedure Act 2005 Civil Liability Act 2002

CATEGORY : Procedural and other rulings

CASES CITED : Forster v Hunter New England (2010) NSWCA 106

PARTIES : Stephen Roy Sargent (P) South Western Area Health Service (D)

FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 2010/037854

COUNSEL : A. Black SC (P) J. Downing (D)

SOLICITORS : Stacks Goudkamp Laywers (P) GILD Insurance Litigation Pty Ltd (D)

EX TEMPORE Judgment 1 The applicant, Stephen Roy Sargent, seeks an order of the Court pursuant to s 82 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005 for an interim award of damages in the sum of $1,130,000. 2 In support of that motion, the plaintiff has filed extensive evidence which abundantly proves, at the level required for an order of the kind sought, that:

(a) he was admitted to Liverpool Hospital, for which the South Area Western Health Service is legally responsible, in March 2009 with injuries sustained as a consequence of falling off his push bike while travelling at about 30 to 40 kilometres per hour;