Anthony Glohe v Nicholas Simington (No 3) [2016] NSWDC 155

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Anthony Glohe v Nicholas Simington (No 3) [2016] NSWDC 155 Hearing dates: 23 – 27 November 2015; 30 – 31 May 2016; 1, 7 June 2016 Date of orders: 12 July 2016 Decision date: 12 July 2016 Jurisdiction: Civil Before: Cogswell SC DCJ Decision: I enter a verdict for the plaintiff against the defendant in the sum of $37,104. Catchwords: TORTS - negligence - road accident cases – road rage incident – liability of drivers of vehicles –pedestrian accidents – negligent if not reckless swerve towards pedestrian – altercation between passenger and driver of other vehicle – assessment of credibility – relevance of incomplete cross-examination of defendant due to defendant's medical condition – not a blameless accident – finding of no contributory negligence; DAMAGES – past-economic loss – limited work capacity for 12 weeks post-accident – future economic loss – reliance on Malec v Hutton principles – finding that plaintiff has ongoing and permanent loss in earning capacity – plaintiff is fulltime carer for wife – absence of medical evidence regarding the plaintiff's wife's life expectancy – award of buffer amount – past domestic care – failure to overcome statutory threshold – no award – future domestic care awarded – future out-of-pocket expenses awarded Legislation Cited: Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999 Cases Cited: Malec v JC Hutton Pty Ltd (1990) 169 CLR 638 Seven Network Ltd v News Ltd (No 8) [2005] FCA 1348 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Anthony Glohe (Plaintiff) Nicholas Simington (Defendant) Representation: Counsel: Mr D Toomey SC with Mr D Woodbury (Plaintiff) Mr P Ryan (Defendant)