Zahr v TAL Life Limited [2014] NSWSC 358

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Zahr v TAL Life Limited [2014] NSWSC 358 Hearing dates: 24 & 26 March 2014 Decision date: 11 April 2014 Before: Pembroke J Decision: Judgment for defendant Catchwords: MENTAL HEALTH - malingering - difficulties of determining - fragility of clinical judgment INSURANCE - disability policy - claim for partial disability due to illness - mental illness - depression and anxiety Cases Cited: Thomas v SMP (International) Pty Ltd [2010] NSWSC 822 Texts Cited: L Binder, 1992, 'Deception and Malingering', in A E Puente & R J McCaffrey (eds), Handbook of Neuropsychological Assessment, a Biopsychosocial Perspective, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 353-374 K Brauer Boone, Assessment of Feigned Cognitive Impairment: A Neurological Perspective, (2007 Guilford Press) E Eggleston, 'Consideration of Symptom Validity as a Routine Component and Forensic Assessment', (2011) The New Zealand Psychological Society T W Freeman, 'Measuring Symptom Exaggeration in Veterans with Chronic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder', (2008) 158(3) Psychiatry Research 374 H Hall, Detecting Malingering and Deception: Forensic Distortion Analysis, (2nd ed 2000, CRC Press) T Merten, 'Symptom Validity Testing in Claimants with Alleged Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Comparing the Moral Emotional Numbing Test, the Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology, and the Word Memory Test', (2009) 2 Psychological Injury and Law 284 G Young, 'Malingering, Feigning and Responsive Bias in Psychiatric/Psychological Inquiry', (2014) 56 International Library of Ethics, Law and the New Medicine 401 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Fred Fehmi Zahr - plaintiff TAL Life Limited - defendant Representation: Counsel: M J Gollan - for the plaintiff S J Walsh - for the defendant Solicitors: W G McNally Jones Staff - for the plaintiff Mills Oakley Lawyers - for the defendant File Number(s): 2012/239765