Gialouris v Surfside Buslines Pty Ltd [2014] NSWDC 223

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Gialouris v Surfside Buslines Pty Ltd [2014] NSWDC 223 Hearing dates: 21 and 22 July 2014 Decision date: 19 September 2014 Jurisdiction: Civil Before: Gibson DCJ Decision: (1) Judgment for the plaintiff for the sum of $1,442.80. (2) Costs reserved with liberty to apply. (3) Exhibits retained for 28 days. Catchwords: TORT - personal injury - assessment of damages - causation - plaintiff suffers injury when a bus in which she and her husband are passengers brakes suddenly - plaintiff seeks medical assistance for minor injuries but later claims serious shoulder injury - accounts given by the plaintiff and her husband to police, ambulance and hospital differ signficantly from the plaintiff's evidence in court - defendant's expert witness changes opinion as to causation after receiving information about the earlier inconsistent statements - defendant calls evidence from the bus driver which is consistent with the plaintiff's initial version of events - reconciling different versions by a plaintiff of an accident - reliability of statements made to health professionals - role of credit findings - assessment of damages Legislation Cited: Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 (Qld) Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW), r 42.35 Cases Cited: Container Terminals Australia v Huseyin [2008] NSWCA 320 Davis v Council of the City of Wagga Wagga [2004] NSWCA 34 Ferguson v McDonalds [2005] NSWCA 401 Gulic v O'Neill [2011] NSWCA 361 Hill v Richards [2011] NSWCA 291 Kappadoukas v Fransepp Pty Ltd [2006] NSWCA 366 Makita (Aust) Pty Ltd v Sprowles (2001) 52 NSWLR 705 Mason v Demasi [2009] NSWCA 227 Mastronardi v State of New South Wales [2009] NSWCA 270 McGlen-McLeod v Galloway [2011] NSWDC 163 McGlen-McLeod v Galloway [2012] NSWCA 368 Nominal Defendant v Kostic [2007] NSWCA 14 Tchen v Nominal Defendant [2010] NSWCA 245 Whalan v Kogarah Municipal Council [2007] NSWCA 5 Texts Cited: - Category: Principal judgment Parties: Plaintiff: Rena Gialouris Defendant: Surfside Buslines Pty Ltd Representation: Plaintiff: Dr S C Thorton Defendant: Ms C J Allan Plaintiff: Schreuder Partners Defendant: McInnes Wilson Lawyers File Number(s): 2013/283635 Publication restriction: None